The Federal High Court in Lagos has been asked to halt the acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) by Titan Trust Bank, following disagreement between majority shareholders and minority investors, IgbereTV reports
IGBERETV had reported last month that majority shareholders, Union Global Partners Limited and Atlas Mara Limited structured a deal with Titan Trust Bank Limited to takeover Union Bank.
Titan Trust Bank acquired 93.41 percent stake in Union Bank, worth about N100 billion. The acquisition resulted to the Chief Executive Officer, Emeka Okonkwo, and nine other executives resigning from UBN.
The deal, however, doesn’t excite all shareholders, as lawyers and SANs; Charles Mekwunye and A.M. Makinde, requested that the court nullify the takeover agreement and return both parties to status quo, on Monday.
In the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/674/2022, the plaintif described the acquisition as invalid and unlawful, stating that it doesn’t follow the law. According to them, rather than the deal taking place on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the majority shareholders and the new investor concluded on the agreement through private treaty.
The FHC was informed that Titan Trust Bank wasn’t profitable enough to takeover Union Bank, and doesn’t possess the financial requirements, having only secured its banking license two years ago.
Part of their prayers was that the court label the approval of the deal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is one of the co-defendants, as unconstitutional and a disrespect to the law
