- Trust Bank Launches GH¢8.79m Tender Offer Ahead of September GSE Delisting
Trust Bank PLC has launched a tender offer worth up to GH¢8.79 million to acquire shares held by qualifying shareholders in Ghana as the Gambian lender advances plans to delist from the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The bank said the offer, being undertaken on behalf of Solo Dabo Company Limited as sponsor, will seek to purchase all 7,328,773 ordinary shares held by qualifying shareholders on the Ghana Register at GH¢1.20 per share. At full acceptance, the transaction would amount to approximately GH¢8.79 million.
The exercise follows a special resolution passed by shareholders at Trust Bank’s 26th Annual General Meeting on July 4, 2024, approving the company’s delisting from the GSE. Trust Bank said the decision forms part of a strategy to optimise resources and concentrate on its core operations in The Gambia.
The tender offer is being conducted pursuant to Rule 93 of the GSE Listing Rules and provides an exit route for qualifying Ghanaian shareholders before the company’s shares cease trading on the exchange.
The offer will open at 9:00am on August 17, 2026, and close at 4:00pm on September 11. Settlement is scheduled for September 18, with the results expected to be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the GSE on September 23. Delisting is scheduled for September 25, 2026.
The timetable gives shareholders less than four weeks to determine whether to tender their holdings.
For investors, the key decision will be whether the GH¢1.20 offer price represents an acceptable exit value relative to their acquisition cost, expectations about the bank’s future prospects and the implications of continuing to hold shares in an unlisted company.
Delisting does not necessarily eliminate shareholders’ ownership rights, but it materially changes the liquidity profile of the investment. Once a company is no longer listed, shareholders generally lose the ability to buy and sell the stock through the normal exchange-based market, making future exits potentially more difficult.
That is why tender offers are an important part of many delisting processes.
They provide minority shareholders with an opportunity to realise cash before public trading ends rather than remain invested in an unlisted company with limited secondary-market liquidity.
Trust Bank has established separate procedures depending on how the shares are held.
Shareholders with electronically held securities in the Central Securities Depository are required to instruct their licensed stockbroker to tender and execute the sale of their shares to the sponsor on the GSE during the offer period.
Investors holding physical certificates must complete the Form of Acceptance included with the offer circular, attach valid identification and their original share certificates, and submit the documents to Databank Brokerage or UMB Registrars before the 4:00pm closing deadline on September 11.
The bank said the offer circular had already been electronically distributed to qualifying shareholders appearing on the Ghana Register as of August 12 and advised investors to consult their stockbroker, investment adviser, banker or legal professional before deciding whether to participate.
The transaction represents another example of a listed company reassessing whether maintaining a public-market presence outside its core operating jurisdiction continues to provide sufficient strategic value.
For Trust Bank, the rationale is explicit: resources are to be focused on its business in The Gambia rather than maintaining a listing in Ghana.
That makes the offer as much a corporate restructuring exercise as a shareholder liquidity event.
The principal issue for minority investors is what happens if they do not tender.
The announcement itself does not provide a detailed explanation of the post-delisting trading arrangements for shareholders who elect to retain their shares. It therefore becomes especially important for investors to study the full offer circular before deciding whether to exit.
This distinction matters because a shareholder may remain economically exposed to a company after delisting but without access to the liquidity and continuous market pricing associated with an exchange-traded security.
The tender price of GH¢1.20 per share effectively sets the immediate cash exit available through the offer.
If all eligible shares are tendered, Solo Dabo Company Limited would acquire the full 7.33 million shares currently held by qualifying shareholders on the Ghana Register, consolidating ownership ahead of the company’s departure from the GSE.
Databank Brokerage Limited is acting as sponsoring broker, while Universal Merchant Bank Registrar Services is serving as registrar and receiving agent for the transaction.
The offer now puts the decision directly before Trust Bank’s Ghanaian shareholders.
They can accept a defined cash price before the September delisting or retain exposure to a company whose shares will no longer benefit from normal GSE trading.
For Trust Bank, the transaction marks the final stages of a delisting process approved more than two years ago.
For shareholders, the more immediate deadline is September 11 when the window to accept the GH¢1.20-per-share exit offer closes.
