Universal insurance Plc has recieved the approval of its shareholders to adopt all necessary measures to increase its authorised capital to meet the new capital threshold set by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for the industry’s recapitalisation.
The shareholders gave the approval during the company’s joint 48th and 49th annual general meeting held in Lagos.
The board had sought and obtained the shareholders’ approval to raise the company’s capital through right issues, share reconstruction, to raise additional equity capital for the company up to the maximum limit of the authorised share capital, whether by way of special placement or public officer with or without a preferential allotment/or rights issue or a combination of any of them, either locally or internationally.
According to the company’s Acting Chairman of the Board, Anthony Okocha, the firm has over 30 billion registered shares and out of which,16 billion has been issued while 14 billion is still warehoused and could be brought up for issuance if need be.
Okocha disclosed that the company has N6.5 billion and would need extra N3.5 billion to make up for recapitalisation requirement as a general business insurer.
Commenting on steps to meet the recapitalisation exercise, due June 2020, he said, “more discussions are ongoing but could not be concluded prematurely. We are also looking at right issues, the company is in discussion with core investors and probable foreign influence into your company.”
For his part, Ben Ujoatuonu, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the company urged the shareholders to approve that they, the board and management, go out there and raise the required funds so as to retain the company’s brand.
“We are having talks with foreign investors and also looking at merger and acquisition. If you look at our balance sheet as at 2018 and going by NAICOM definition of minimum capital requirement for insurance company we have about N6.4billion and a negative of N3.6 billion. In line with that, we are looking at a business combination that will meet the demand of the shareholders who want the brand Universal Insurance retained beyond 2020,” Ujoatuonu said.