General News
A call for Better Compliance to News Media Ethics: The Case of the Rumoured Acquisition of Jumia by Zinox
By Adeola Olanloko
Last week, Nigeria’s business media was awash with the speculation that Leo-Stan Ekeh, the chairman of Zinox Technologies and owner of the Konga e-commerce platform is on his way to acquiring Jumia Technologies, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform.
According to Nairametrics, an online business journal, Ekeh “has been scooping Jumia shares indirectly suggesting a possible acquisition could be in play if the opportunity arises.”
In the same report, Nairametrics quoted the Head of Corporate Communications for Zinox Group, Gideon Ayogu, who refused to confirm or deny the takeover move, as saying that “nothing positive is impossible.”
In a statement signed by Jumia Nigeria, the company said that they do not comment on speculations, noting that such a bid must comply with the rules and conventions as stipulated by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) laws.
“As per US Securities Law, shareholders must disclose any shareholding above a 5% threshold and so far we are yet to see any such disclosure. We are focused on executing on our strategy to scale the business towards profitability.
And as you can see from the Q1.22 results released on Tuesday, we made very good progress on this front. The fundamentals of the business are very strong, we posted the fastest GMV, Order and Revenue growth rates of the past 9 quarters,” the statement read.
How does one acquire a publicly listed company?
Who takes over companies on the pages of the newspaper? A look at how the stock market works shows that there are laid down procedures for the acquisition of a quoted company . A quoted company refers to any company whose shares are listed on a Stock Exchange – local or international. Jumia Technologies is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
One of the ways to achieve such a takeover/acquisition is by Management buyout. It is called a Management buyout in the instance that the Management owns a significant stake in the company such that acquiring the shares owned by Management takes the acquirer close to a controlling stake (50% plus one share of the company).
Typically the acquiring company/individual enters into an agreement with the owners of the company to buy controlling shares of the company at a given price. The Board/Management of the company targeted for acquisition will facilitate the negotiations between the company’s shareholders and the proposed buyer.
This process is what Standard Bank, owners of the Stanbic Bank brand, used to acquire IBTC in September 2011 and is what is being played out between Elon Musk and Twitter. Jumia’s statement indicates no such discussions were held with Zinox.
Another route is for an entity to scoop up shares from the floor of the exchange where the stocks are listed. These stocks are called over-the-counter (OTC) stocks because you can buy and sell them through most major online brokers. This was the route Heirs Holdings used to acquire a significant stake in Transcorp Plc in April 2011.
At Jumia’s current market capitalization, excluding any premium existing shareholders may demand, we estimate that to scoop up 51% of the company shares will require a minimum investment of over $350 million or N203 billion.
Possibly the price will be higher if an average of the stock price in the past 12 months is used as a benchmark. If such an over the counter transaction in a single stock were to take place on the New York Stock Exchange, market watchers would have noticed the activity in the stock and would not rely on Nairametrics to bring it to their attention. Here the reporter overreached himself.
Typically before launching such an acquisition bid, the acquirer already owns significant shares in the company. Elon Musk for example owned 9.2% of Twitter stock before his acquisition bid and his aggregate stock holding was duly declared as required by the rules of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC law stipulates that anyone who hits an aggregate five percent shareholding threshold must declare it to the Exchange. It is what applies in most international Exchanges, including the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Failure to comply with this law is considered a violation of Securities law. Going by the statement from Jumia, there has been no such disclosure yet. We doubt that a very savvy investor like the Chairman of Zinox would have acquired shareholding in Jumia Technologies above this 5% threshold without disclosing it, given the implications of non-disclosure.
Is this a case of careless reporting and lack of due diligence?
Media analysts are thus suspecting that given Jumia and Zinox are well known brands in the Nigerian market, the story may have been spun purely for its sensational value to drive clicks without thought on how it might affect stakeholders in the two companies, investing public and other critical stakeholders.
Jumia released its Quarter 2 financials on May 10th to Analysts and the Media. All listed companies are required to release their quarterly results to Analysts and the Media and Jumia publicly announced this date on its website in advance.
The company reported posting the fastest GMV, order and revenue growth rates of the past nine quarters and this is possibly what drove the uptick in the stock price following its Earnings release not the rumour!
Notwithstanding any future activity on Jumia Technologies stock, this particular story appears not to have been well researched and subjected to proper due diligence before it was published and this verges on carelessness and lack of respect for the reading public.
Sensational titles always drive clicks for digital media but spending credibility just for a few more clicks is a bad trade and harms all digital newspapers. It is time for professional media practitioners to encourage compliance with ethics and tighten the rules either through private digital media group initiatives. Otherwise, we will give room to the government to intervene.
Adeola Olanloko, a business analyst writes from Lagos.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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