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Access Holdings’ Market Capitalisation Hits N1.4trn after Private Placement
Kayode Tokede
The market capitalisation of Access Holdings Plc’s increased to N1.4trillion after the listing of additional shares from a successful private placement.
The Holdings listed additional 1,057,958,025 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each arising from private placement of 1,975,308,641 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N20.25 per share, which was 53.54per cent subscribed.
With the additional shares of 1,057,958,025, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Access Holdings Plc have now increased from 53,317,838,433 to 54,375,796,458 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, bringing the pan–African’s financial institution’s market capitalisation to N1.4trillion at stock price of N26.00 per share as of April 10, 2026.
At N26.00 per share, the stock price of Access Holdings has gained 24 per cent from N21 per share it closed for trading in 2025.
The holdings had successfully exceeded the N500 billion minimum share capital required by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for banks with international license.
The company achieved this milestone by raising N351 billion through a Rights Issue of 17,772,612,811 ordinary shares at N19.75 each.
The company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, confirmed that Access Bank has obtained full regulatory approval from both the CBN and the Seurities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
This achievement makes Access Bank the first Nigerian bank to meet the CBN’s N500 billion recapitalisation benchmark, introduced in March 2024. Nigerian banks have until 31 March 2026 to meet this target or face penalties. Currently, Access Bank is the largest bank in Nigeria by assets.
Following the CBN’s directive, Access Bank issued new shares to its existing shareholders from 7 June to 28 August 2024, allowing them to buy one new share for every two they already owned.
The rights issue was highly successful, receiving 24,181 applications for 18.82 billion shares worth approximately N372 billion, achieving an oversubscription rate of 105.76per cent.
However, applications for 41,650,447 shares worth N823 million were disqualified by the CBN for procedural breaches, leaving 18.8 billion shares worth N371 billion valid and processed.
