The president, Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN), ‘Kemi Awodein, has said the investment banking sector of the economy handled major transactions that defined the outgoing year and required recognition.
Awodein stated this during the Investment Banking Awards Dinner held in Lagos.
She explained that the several successful transactions facilitated within the year, including Heineken’s $24 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Nigerian Breweries and Sahara Group’s $1 billion purchase of Egbin Power, showed the strength and resilience of the investment banking market and the economy.
“The prominent transactions include Seplat Energy’s $650 million bond issuance, aimed at expanding its energy operations, and Airtel Africa’s $500 million capital raise, which was used to enhance telecommunications infrastructure. These initiatives were made more feasible by the improved economic environment following the reforms,” the AIHN president said.
Awodein said that the awards were for 2023 transactions, adding that 2024 has been a busy year and is expected to bring about a lot more impactful and interesting transactions that could qualify for awards next year.
This year’s awards saw Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited dominating the winner’s list.
Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited won the Best Public Sector Debt Issuance House 2023, Best Commercial Paper House 2023, Best Corporate Bond House 2023, Best DCM House 2023, Best Equity Deal of 2023 and Best Investment Bank 2023.
Also, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited won the Best Equity House 2023, Best M&A Deal of 2023, and Best M&A House 2023.
The chief executive officer, Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, said 2023 was not a bad year in the investment banking markets, but relative to the activity that has happened this year, it was a relatively lighter year.
The head, Real Estate Finance, Stanbic IBTC Capital, Tola Akinhanmi, said the winnings were as a result of hard work by the team.
Akinhanmi said, the raising of minimum capital for investment banks was a bold move, which many thought was a challenge, saying, ‘but it rather motivated the company to go into the market and raised enough capital.’
The chief executive officer, Marble Capital, Akeem Oyewale, said, “We have seen the impact of raising capital, or how it has enabled private enterprises to grow. So, recognising the people that were behind the scenes aggregating all these capital and making sure they meet all the regulatory requirements is good. I think the investment community has proven yet again that they are ready to support the government in achieving that?”
On his part, the executive commissioner of Operations at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bola Ajomale, asked the investment bankers to put more efforts in ensuring that investors knew about the risks of investing in ponzi schemes.
He said, giving out right information about the opportunities and threats in the investment banking markets will support sectoral growth and development.
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