The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has facilitated the first Initial Public Offer (IPO) in four years with the planned public offering of Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc for the sale of 406,074,000 ordinary shares.

The public offer will open next Monday, November 12 and close on Wednesday, December 19, 2018.

A statement by the Bureau’s Head, Public Communication, Amina Tukur Othman, on the facilitation which held in Lagos last Monday, quoted the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, as saying that the deal represents a great a milestone for the Bureau and the nation’s privatisation programme and urged the investing public to take advantage of the offer.

Okoh said that the shares being offered for sale would be allotted on the basis of equality between the 360 federal constituencies in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); and advised prospective investors to consult their stockbrokers and financial advisers for subscription.

He said the planned listing of the SAHCO Plc’s shares was in fulfillment of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE)’s commitment towards deepening Nigeria’s Capital Market through the provisions of opportunities for investment on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).

The Director General reiterated the commitment of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to ensuring that “privatisation transactions, especially reforms geared towards economic recovery for a buoyant Nigerian economy are done in line with international best practices.”

Okoh assured that the present administration was poised to partnering with the Nigerian and international investors in order to explore the opportunities available in the nation’s Capital Market.

According to him, SAHCO Plc, formerly Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), was incorporated in March 1996 as a 100% fully-owned Federal Government enterprise but was privatised and handed over to the core-investor (SIFAX Group) on December 23, 2009 after being carved out of the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited.

The BPE boss, who explained that the company was 100% owned by the SIFAX Group, noted that SAHCO was one of the success stories of privatisation in Nigeria and pledged the determination of the present administration to ensure that all privatised enterprises were run efficiently and for the benefit of all Nigerians.

In his remarks, Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, disclosed that SAHCO had grown from 21 percent to 40 percent since his group acquired it in 2009, boosting its revenue by 100 percent during the 10-year period.

While enjoining the general public to take advantage of the public offer, Afolabi said that the 41 percent of the shares on sale would be offered the investing public while 10 percent was reserved for staff of the company as statutorily required by the privatisation Act.

On why SAHCO had to wait nine years after take over before going public, he said that the company wanted to procure state- of the- art equipment and have in place the necessary logistics before going public; and that the investing climate was not conducive for share sales then.