Johnvents raises N80bn as investors oversubscribe commercial paper
- Johnvents Industries' N80 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper was oversubscribed, the agribusiness company said.
- The firm also fully repaid its Series 21 Commercial Paper, worth N28.64 billion, at maturity.
- Johnvents says the new funds will buy and process cocoa and other farm commodities this season.
Agribusiness company Johnvents Industries Limited says investors bought more than it offered in its N80 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper sale, and that it has fully repaid an earlier N28.64 billion debt on time.
The company announced both in a statement on Monday. The new paper was floated under a N250 billion Commercial Paper Programme, a short-term borrowing arrangement companies use to raise working capital from investors.
The company said subscriptions came in above the offer size, which it described as a sign of investor confidence in its business and expansion plans.
Johnvents said the N80 billion will go into seasonal working capital, mainly to buy and process cocoa and other agricultural commodities during the current operating cycle. The money is meant to help it secure raw materials within critical seasonal windows and keep its processing plants running.
Why it matters
Johnvents has grown from sourcing and trading farm commodities into an integrated agribusiness and food manufacturing platform. Its work spans aggregation, storage, processing, exports and branded consumer products.
The company said its next growth phase will focus on raising processing output, improving capacity use, moving into higher-value consumer goods and strengthening domestic distribution and export ties. It said the strategy is also aimed at strengthening Nigeria's non-oil export base, creating jobs and supporting farmers, aggregators, transporters, distributors and service providers in its network.
Group Managing Director John Alamu called the oversubscription a vote of confidence in the company's plan to link agriculture with industry, exports and consumer markets. He said the proceeds would be used as set out in the approved offer documents, with attention to liquidity management and timely repayment.
Group Head of Treasury Samuel Olaifa said the new sale and the repayment of Series 21 at maturity showed the company matches funding to its operating cash flows and manages maturities deliberately.
The company said the transaction followed investor meetings and tours of selected Johnvents facilities, where investors could assess its operations, processing capacity and inventory cycle.
Kayode Omosebi, Acting Managing Director of Regius Capital, said the engagements gave investors a clearer picture of the link between the company's assets, inventory cycle, cash generation and ability to repay. He said the oversubscription reflected institutional appetite for well-structured credit.
The transaction was led by United Capital Plc and Regius Capital Limited, alongside other joint issuing houses and advisers.
What happens next
The company says it will use the funds through the current cocoa and commodity season and keep meeting its repayment obligations as they fall due.
