It seems that businessman and CEO of Ardova Plc, Abdulwasiu Sowami is tired of paying shareholders of the company large sums of money as dividends every year and given a choice, he would rather operate the company as a private entity than a public liability.
Ardova is an integrated energy company that buys and distributes petroleum products via its extensive network of over 450 retail outlets in Nigeria. It has significant storage facilities in Apapa, Lagos and Onne in Rivers State.
Sowami wants to delist Ardova Plc from the Nigerian Exchange. He has already communicated his intentions to the appropriate quarters in the hope that it will scale the regulator’s hurdle. Also, he has made his shareholders an offer in exchange for all the shares in their possession. The deal is valued in the neighbourhood of N16.9 billion. He is doing this via Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited, the investment arm of his Ardova Plc.
This latest development is coming at a time of mixed fortunes for Ardova. It would be recalled that in August 2022, THEWILL Newspaper reported how billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola battled Sowami over accrued debts from the sale of his Zenon Petroleum and Gas company to Ardova, formerly known as Prudent Energy, for the purchase of 74 per cent share capital in Forte Oil Plc.
The sale took place in 2019, but four years after, Sowami was yet to make full payment of the cash equivalent of the shares. Otedola had sold the shares of Forte oil for $200 million at the time. The deal was structured in such a way that Sowami would pay the money in tranches, instead of paying it in full.
However, by mid-2022, Sowami had stopped making payment, leaving a balance of $6 million. Despite this, he went ahead to buy a competitor, Enyo Retail and Supply, with about 95 retail stations all over the country.
Tired of serving letters to Sowami demanding that he pay up his long overdue debt, Otedola approached the courts with a request to compel Sowami to offset his debt.
Also, Ardova suffered suspension by NGX for failing to file its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December, 2021. Eventually the suspension was lifted after the company filed its Audited Financial Statements and Unaudited Financial Statements for the quarter ended 31 March 2022, in compliance with all applicable rules of NGX. And then the company suffered some losses from its subsidiaries, Axles and Cartage, and the newly acquired Enyo Retail and Supply Limited, leading to a group net loss position of N3.8 billion.
Just two weeks ago, Sowami lost one of his petrol filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory to a raging inferno which burnt everything in sight, including a long line of vehicles that were waiting in a queue to purchase fuel, beyond recognition.
A philanthropist, Sowami who likes to operate in the background and abhors the spotlight channels his goodwill through his Abdul-Lateef and Sanni Foundation. He holds an M.Sc. in Corporate Governance from Leeds Beckett University, England and a B.Sc. in Sociology from the University of Maiduguri. He is a member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
