FBN Holdings Plc has disclosed that it has engaged its solicitors to defend the interest of the company against the lawsuit filed against it by Barbican Capital Limited.
This was contained in a statement by the company.
The HoldCO acknowledges the recent media coverage concerning the lawsuit filed by Barbican Capital Limited.
It confirmed that all necessary legal documents have been submitted, and through a Third-party Notice, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been included as a party to the suit.
It added that this inclusion aims to facilitate a comprehensive resolution of the issues and questions presented by the plaintiff.
The statement reads:
“The attention of the FBN Holdings Plc has been drawn to recent media reports regarding the suit filed by Barbican Capital Limited.
The company is aware of this suit and we have duly instructed our solicitors to defend the interest of the company accordingly.
The matter is presently in court of law and it will be sub judice to join issues with the plaintiff outside the court.
We confirm that necessary papers have been filed and by virtue of a Third-party Notice, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been joined as a party to the suit for effective determination of questions and issues raised by the plaintiff.
The matter is presently adjourned to October 2, 2024 for hearing of the suit.
We assure our numerous stakeholders of the company’s commitment to the highest levels of corporate governance standards in defending the matter”.
It will be recalled that in the case filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Barbican Capital had accused FBN Holdings of altering its 5.4 billion shares in the Holdco.
According to the unaudited consolidated financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2023, the shareholding of Barbican Capital was stated as 4,886,062,743 (13.61 per cent).
However, in the audited results, the direct holding of Barbican Capital dropped to 3,110,400,619 (8.67 per cent) with a note “As verified by the Central. Bank of Nigeria” added to it.
The same 3,110,400,619 (8.67 per cent) was recorded for Barbican in the first quarter and second quarter financial statements of the Holdco filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
The investment firm, in suit no. FHC/L/CS/ 1172/24, filed on its behalf by Bode Olanipekun, SAN, claimed that over the years and at different times, it cumulatively acquired about 5,386,397,202 shares, representing 15.1 per cent of FBNH overall shares listed on the NGX.
Barbican Capital also included a report from the Central Securities Clearing System to show its total shareholding.
According to the CSCS report tendered before the court, as of May 23, 2024, the company owned 5,386,397,202 shares (15.01 per cent) and held 4,886,062,743 shares (13.61 per cent) as of December 2023.
The firm claimed that its shareholding increased from 13.61 per cent reported by FBN Holdings in its unaudited results to 15.01 per cent after Honeywell consolidated 1.5 per cent of its affiliated shares to Barbican.
In validation of its stake, the Otudeko-linked firm stated that it received dividends payment from FBNH for all its 5,386,397,202 shares between November and December 2023 for the full year ended December 31, 2022, and had no time divested its shares.
