Breaking News
VFD Shareholders See Stronger Upsides from New Capital
* As stock liquidity attracts institutional investors
After a strong 25 per cent rally from its right issue price of N10.00 per share to close at N12.50 on Friday, March 13, 2026, some traders rode on the strong demand and broader liquidity of the stock to take profit. A total of 5.7 million units were traded between N11.25 and N12.50.
As the lower price opened a new window of opportunity for shareholders, the stock opened on bid on Tuesday, firming up quickly to N12.00/share as investors who could not fulfill their investment objective during the rights issue sought the lower price of N11.25 as a good chance to buy into the Group.
An analyst at Anchoria Securities, a leading brokerage firm and one of the subsidiaries of VFD Group, noted: “Our research does not cover VFD Group being our parent company and the Group’s policy of ensuring independence and avoidance of conflict of interest.
“That said, we continue to see a lot interest in the stock, including mandates from some new and existing shareholders who could not fully fulfill their investment objectives during the rights issue.
“As you may know, monies for excess subscription to the rights issue would also be returned to designated shareholders in the next couple of days, so we see affected shareholders seeking to buy the shares in the secondary market, even so at a price much higher than the rights issue price of N10.00 per share.
“The rights issue also enhanced the liquidity of the stock on exchange and this would undoubtedly attract local and foreign institutional shareholders, whose limitation in buying into the Group was previously its limited shares outstanding and capitalization.”
The leadership of the Group sees the new N50.1 billion capital as timely, as the economy steadily gains momentum, affording confidence for local and foreign investors to make new long term strategic investment decisions.
The Investor Relations Manager, VFD Group, Melvin Eseoke, asserted that the capital raising was a proactive strategy.
“After diligent brainstorming at one of our strategy sessions in 2024, we had a prognosis that 2025 would mark a turning point for the Nigerian economy, and whilst our optimism was moderated by uncertainties around 2027 elections, we remain upbeat on the broader fundamentals of the economy. This guided our capital management and overall business strategy plan.
“We knew 2026 would bring forth new opportunities, especially as our portfolio of fast-growing companies across multiple sectors now require escalation capital to consolidate on the strong trajectory.
“So, we took the audacious step to raise N50 billion through a rights issue and our esteemed shareholders responded positively with a 100% success rate, reinforcing the confidence of the shareholders in the ability of the management to effectively execute on the strategies for our next growth phase.
“The capital is a new vista of energy and it strengthens the unique fundamentals of the VFD Group. More importantly, the new capital enhances the ability of the Group to upscale its returns to shareholders.
“We now have the capacity to accelerate our vision of delivering one of the highest return on equity in the Nigerian capital market, as we leverage the new capital to accelerate our profitability from 20% return on average equity reported in the 2025 financial year”.
Some analysts noted that the attraction to VFD Group lies in the strategic nature of its investments and broader ecosystem approach.
Notably, it is one of the core shareholders of the Nigerian Exchange Group, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc and NASD-OTC Exchange, three critical market infrastructures that have seen their valuations quadrupled over the past two years.
Beyond the foresight at making strategic investments in key public-interest entities, it continues to incubate potential unicorns across major sectors of the economy, providing diversification and affording access to opportunities in both public and private markets.
