Some shareholders of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc have endorsed the company’s decision to delist from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Mathew Akinlade, a shareholder and director of the company, assured that the planned delisting would not negatively impact investors.
Akinlade explained that delisting would help MRS Oil Nigeria reduce regulatory costs, enabling the company to expand and increase profitability. “It just reduces costs in terms of regulatory fees and does not affect the company’s performance. Recently, some companies have delisted and moved to NASD to cut costs. This has no negative implications for investors. The company is growing, and profits are rising. We will still hold our annual general meeting,” he said.
The Board of Directors of MRS Oil Nigeria has proposed a voluntary delisting of the company’s issued shares from the NGX. This proposal was disclosed in a notice of an extraordinary general meeting filed with the exchange on Friday.
The notice outlined the plan to remove 342,884,706 ordinary shares from the NGX’s daily official list and Main Board. The board considered various factors, including regulatory requirements, administrative and compliance costs, new opportunities, market conditions, and long-term growth prospects, before deciding to delist.
“The board of directors of the company, having undergone a strategic reassessment of the company’s status, particularly considering regulatory obligations, administrative and compliance costs, emerging opportunities, evolving market conditions, and the trajectory of projected long-term financial and operational growth, proposes to delist the issued shares of the company, comprising a total of 342,884,706 ordinary shares, from the daily official list and trading on the Main Board of the NGX,” the firm explained.
Moses Igbrude, National Coordinator of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, reassured shareholders that MRS Oil Nigeria would continue to operate as a public limited company, albeit not listed on the NGX. “There won’t be much difference as it would still be a public limited company but not listed on the exchange. The same activities conducted on the exchange can be done on the NASD platform. The market will shrink, losing revenue and reducing in number, but these are the primary implications,” he noted.
Rotimi Fakayejo, an economy and capital market analyst, stated that delisting would benefit shareholders by reducing post-listing fees and minimizing penalties for reporting delays. “For the market, there will be less visibility of that stock, which is a setback. However, for the company and its stakeholders, it is advantageous as post-listing fees are reduced, and penalties for reporting delays are rare. After the voluntary delisting, the board will ensure that necessary actions are taken for the company’s shares to be accepted on the NASD OTC Securities Exchange, considering shareholders’ trading needs,” he explained.
MRS Oil Nigeria’s shares remained steady, closing the week at N135, with a 263.88 percent appreciation over the last year. The oil marketing firm was initially listed on the Nigerian Exchange on January 1, 1978, as Chevron Oil Nigeria but rebranded to MRS Oil Nigeria in 2009.
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