Dangote Sugar, NASCON Proposed Merger Put On Hold

NASCON Allied Industries Plc said that the proposed merger of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Nascon and Dangote Rice Limited has been suspended.

NASCON in a release signed by its company A. Samuel notified the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public, that further to its announcement of August 30, 2023 in respect of the proposed merger of the three companies, a decision has been taken to suspend the said merger at this time.

“The suspension is due to the comments and recommendation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) centred around the current non-operational status of Dangote Rice Limited.

“NASCON wishes to express its appreciation to all its stakeholders and will keep the public informed of any developments as they arise,” it stated.

It will be recalled that the three Companies proposed to merge their operation into a single entity.

Both NASCON and Dangote Sugar are listed on the Nigerian Exchange, while Dangote Rice is not quoted yet. Dangote Sugar highlighted that the merger would consolidate and strengthen the Group’s market position and lay the foundation to take advantage of future opportunities in the food industry.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian stock market yesterday pulled back slightly bringing the overall capitalization down N36 billion.

The All-Share Index (ASI) shed 62.98 points, representing a decline of 0.06 per cent to close at 99,845.91 points. Also, market capitalisation dipped by N36 billion to close at N56.469 trillion.