Fidelis David in Akure
Johnvents Industries Limited has fully redeemed its Series 21 Commercial Paper, with an aggregate face value of N28.64 billion, at maturity, while recording an oversubscription of its N80 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper issuance.
The company disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, explaining the redemption was completed in accordance with the terms of the instrument, while the fresh issuance, floated under its N250 billion Commercial Paper Programme, attracted subscriptions above the offer size.
The twin developments, according to the company, demonstrate its commitment to meeting financial obligations, maintaining liquidity discipline and sustaining access to the domestic capital market to finance its expanding operations.
The successful issuance comes as Johnvents intensifies efforts to expand its operations, increase processing capacity and strengthen its position across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
The proceeds from the N80 billion issuance will be deployed to support seasonal working capital requirements, particularly the procurement and processing of cocoa and other agricultural commodities during the current operating cycle.
The company explained that the funding would enable it to secure raw materials within critical seasonal windows and sustain operations across its processing facilities, ensuring continuity in its commodity sourcing, processing and shipment activities.
Speaking on the development, the Group Managing Director, John Alamu, described the oversubscription as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s vision of connecting agriculture with industry, exports and consumer markets.
He said, “The response to this issuance is an important vote of confidence in what Johnvents is building: a Nigerian business that connects agriculture to industry, exports and everyday consumer products.
“Our ambition is to create more value locally and build a company capable of competing across markets. That confidence also places a responsibility on us to execute with discipline.”
Alamu assured investors that the proceeds would be applied in accordance with the approved offer documents, while the company would sustain its focus on liquidity management and timely fulfilment of repayment obligations.
The Group Head of Treasury, Samuel Olaifa, said the successful issuance, alongside the full redemption of Series 21 at maturity, reflected the company’s deliberate approach to managing its funding requirements and repayment obligations.
He explained that the transactions were structured around the company’s seasonal working capital cycle, particularly the procurement, processing and shipment of cocoa and other agricultural commodities.
According to him, “Closing this issuance while fully redeeming Series 21 at maturity reflects our focus on matching funding to operating cash flows, managing maturities deliberately and maintaining adequate liquidity throughout the business cycle.”
The company disclosed that the transaction followed an extensive investor engagement programme, including management meetings and tours of selected Johnvents facilities, which enabled investors to assess its operations, processing capacity, inventory cycle and integrated value chain.
The Acting Managing Director of Regius Capital, Kayode Omosebi, said the engagements provided investors with a clearer understanding of the relationship between the company’s operating assets, inventory cycle, cash generation and repayment capacity.
He noted the oversubscription reflected institutional appetite for well-structured credit opportunities, as well as the importance of transparent engagement between companies and investors.
“Johnvents, which has evolved from an agricultural commodity sourcing and trading business into an integrated agribusiness and food manufacturing platform, operates across commodity aggregation, storage, processing, exports and branded consumer products.”
The company said its next phase of growth would focus on increasing processing throughput, improving capacity utilisation, expanding into higher-value consumer goods and strengthening domestic distribution and export relationships.
He added that its expansion strategy was also designed to strengthen Nigeria’s non-oil export base, create employment opportunities and support businesses across its network of farmers, aggregators, transporters, distributors and service providers.