July 19 (Lagos) - In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Oando Plc (
OANDO ) denied it was ordered to pay any money to Ansbury Investments by a UK court.
Shares of
OANDO collapsed 30% in 3 days of trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange but are up almost 10% today following this denial.
The shares could be up much more if not for the 10% limit on increase in price rule of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“We understand that the parties involved in the arbitration are Whitmore Asset Management Limited (a company beneficially owned by Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo) and Ansbury Investments Inc. (a company beneficially owned by Gabrielle Volpi). We confirm that neither party is a shareholder in Oando PLC, We are informed that the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) on July 6, 2018 ruled that Whitmore Limited should pay Ansbury Inc. the sum of $80m. The LCIA also ordered Ocean and Oil Development Partners OODP BVI (OODP BVI), a joint venture company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands by Ansbury Inc. and Whitmore Limited, to pay Ansbury Inc. the sum of $600m.,” said the statement of Oando Plc.
OODP BVI is in turn 99 percent shareholders in Ocean and Oil Development Partners Nigeria (OODP Nigeria) the majority shareholder in Oando PLC by way of 57.37 percent stake in the Company.
Shareholders of
OANDO will breathe a sigh of relief on hearing this news because their portfolios have been battered and bruised over the short term and long term.
Maybe this is a good time to add some
OANDO to the portfolio because if the oil prices gains, there could be more relief for the long term shareholders of this Company. But any such decision will be tough to make given the performance history of the Company. An old saying of Warren Buffet comes to mind that goes like "buy when others are fearful".