With the planned delisting of Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), makers of Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), shareholders in the market have said that they would rally Nigerians to boycott the company’s products.
The move by the shareholders, according to findings was due to the fact that investors would suffer in the event that NBC was allowed to exit the stock market without adequate compensation to investors, majority of whom have been with the company in the last five decade.
Already, the planned exit of the NBC from the capital market may have started taking its toll as Longman Plc recently lost 51 per cent stake from Pearson, the United Kingdom-based partner and majority shareholder which if not checked, may lead to the exit of other multinationals.
The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir. Sunny Nwosu, in a chat with Leadership, said the recent divestment from Longman lent credence to the reason why shareholders were of the firm opinion not to approve the delisting of NBC from the Exchange because the negative effect would not only affect the performance of the companies, but also the economy at large.
Nwosu noted that Nigerian shareholders have resolved that if NBC went ahead to delist, its products would be boycotted all over the country.
Shareholders under the aegis of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria(PSAN) also speaking exclusively to Leadership at the weekend, said the development was a fall out from the NBC plan to delist from the exchange.
The president of the association, Mr. Boniface Okezie, who described the divestment as detrimental to the nation’s economy, said that there were strong indications that more multinational companies were making moves to exit from the Exchange.
?