Union Dicon, three others get November deadline to finish restructuring on NGX

Union Dicon Salt Plc has until November 2026 to complete its business restructuring and settle outstanding post-listing obligations, the Nigerian Exchange Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has said.

NGX RegCo, in a response to Nairametrics, confirmed that Union Dicon has cleared its compliance gaps and now meets the free-float rule for companies on the NGX Main Board. Free float is the share of a company's stock that is freely traded by the public rather than held by insiders.

But the salt and pepper maker's wider restructuring is not yet done.

NGX RegCo said missing the deadline would not automatically remove the company from the exchange. Instead, the matter would go to the relevant committee and the board of NGX RegCo for review.

Any change to a company's listing status, the regulator added, would be announced on the NGX website and in later compliance reports.

Why this matters to ordinary Nigerians

A delisting is not just a boardroom matter. When a company leaves the exchange, everyday Nigerians who bought its shares can find it harder to sell them, and the value of their holdings can fall.

Union Dicon has been on the watchlist since November 1, 2024, on a two-year placement. Earlier this year it told the market it had struggled to reach Aims Limited, the holder of its 40 percent stake, despite repeated attempts.

Its new management has since commissioned salt and pepper production lines, secured approval from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and started packaging Dicon Salt and Dicon Hot Pepper.

The October 23 X-Compliance Report lists four companies on the Delisting Watchlist, each with its own monitoring period. Besides Union Dicon, they are Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc, which must file its quarterly compliance report; Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc, placed for two years; and Fortis Global Insurance Plc, approved on February 14, 2025, for three years, the longest monitoring period of the four.

Five more companies are listed as undergoing restructuring: FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, Austin Laz and Company Plc, Pharma-Deko Plc and Premier Paints Plc. Austin Laz got a two-year restructuring window.

Thomas Wyatt's entry follows its earlier suspension for failing to file its 2025 audited financial statements.

What happens next

Market operators want the regulator to weigh shareholders' interests before acting. Aruna Kebira, chief executive of Globalview Securities Limited, said Union Dicon had already been given enough time and questioned its earlier explanation about losing contact with its core investor.

Charles Fakrogha, chief executive of ECL Asset Management Limited, said NGX should first check how far the restructuring has gone. If the effort falls short of expectations, he said, regulatory delisting could follow. He also suggested another meeting with the watchlisted firms, and noted that companies unwilling to comply could opt for voluntary delisting.

For now, Union Dicon remains listed. November is a review point, not a confirmed exit date.