ALP NG & Co Review On Obtaining the Required Approvals for Equity Transactions in Nigeria

Introduction

Businesses aim to raise capital from institutions and individuals as investment, with the intention of making profit for the business and investors. These investments may be structured as equity (such as share acquisition), quasi-equity (such as convertible loan notes) or debt investments (such as simple lending) which provide the investors with differing features depending on the circumstances.

An equity investment is the purchase of ownership in a company or business which imbues the investor with the right to the businesses’ profits and assets. Where such a transaction culminates in the transfer of shares that exceeds stipulated parameters, it is a merger or an acquisition. As such, a reference to ‘merger’ in this article
is reference to such equity transactions that would lead to regulated business combinations.