BUA Foods lists 18 billion shares, now Nigeria’s second biggest consumer goods’ firm by market value

BUA Foods Plc attained quoted company status after it listed 18 billion ordinary shares in Lagos on Thursday, the firm said, the high point of weeks of transformation and meeting authorities’ as well as regulators’ demands.

The milestone implies the food processing firm has gained entry into the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)’s main board (the bourse’s second highest listing segment), and at the same time become its biggest consumer goods company by market capitalisation after Nestle Nigeria in a sector that comprises other powerhouses like Nigerian Breweries and Flour Mills of Nigeria.

BUA Foods was listed at N40 per unit but appreciated by 10 per cent on the day of its admission, the maximum upper price movement the NGX allows, putting its valuation at N792 billion.

In December, BUA Group – the parent company – spun off its five food businesses and went ahead to combine them into a single company ahead of listing them as a separate entity.

The cement arm, BUA Cement, earlier debuted on the NGX about this time in 2020 and is now worth roughly N2.4 trillion, more than double its value when it listed.

“The listing today marks a new beginning for a Company playing a critical role in the FMCG industry, one that’s highly committed to nourishing lives with all our product offerings,” said Ayodele Abioye, the acting managing director of BUA Foods.

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“The listing resonates with our commitment to sustainable growth as we nourish and enrich the lives of consumers by delivering high quality products at competitive prices.”

Majority-owned by Africa’s sixth richest man, Abdul Samad Rabiu, with a current net worth of $4.6 billion according to Forbes’s estimate, BUA Foods’ offerings encompass manufacturing flour, pasta, rice, sugar and edible oils.

It is looking to start off the production of 200,000 tons of white fortified premium quality this year and complete an expansion project in flour milling and pasta in Port Harcourt come June.