Johnvents Industries Limited’s ₦80 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper issuance has been oversubscribed, underscoring strong investor confidence in the company’s operations and growth prospects.
According to the company, the issuance, floated under its ₦250 billion Commercial Paper Programme, attracted subscriptions above the offer size, reflecting strong institutional participation and sustained interest in its business operations and expansion plans.
The successful issuance comes as the agribusiness company intensifies efforts to expand its operations, increase processing capacity and strengthen its position in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
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The proceeds from the issuance will be used to support the company’s seasonal working capital requirements, particularly commodity procurement and processing during the current operating cycle.
According to the company, the funding will enable it to secure raw materials within critical seasonal windows and sustain operations across its processing facilities.
Johnvents has evolved from an agricultural commodity sourcing and trading business into an integrated agribusiness and food manufacturing platform, with operations spanning commodity aggregation, storage, processing, exports and branded consumer products.
The company said its next phase of growth would focus on increasing processing throughput, improving capacity utilisation, expanding into higher-value consumer goods and strengthening domestic distribution and export relationships.
John Alamu, the Group Managing Director, who spoke on the development, described the oversubscription as a strong vote of confidence in the company’s vision of connecting agriculture with industry, exports and consumer markets.
He said, “The response to this issuance is an important vote of confidence in what Johnvents is building: a Nigerian business that connects agriculture to industry, exports and everyday consumer products.
“Our ambition is to create more value locally and build a company capable of competing across markets. That confidence also places a responsibility on us to execute with discipline.”
Alamu assured investors that the proceeds would be applied in line with the approved offer documents, while the company would maintain its focus on liquidity management and timely repayment obligations.
The successful issuance also coincided with the full redemption at maturity of the company’s Series 21 Commercial Paper, with an aggregate face value of ₦28.64 billion.
The company said the repayment was completed in accordance with the terms of the instrument, underscoring its commitment to liquidity planning and meeting its obligations to investors.
The Group Head of Treasury, Samuel Olaifa, explained that the issuance was structured around the company’s seasonal working capital cycle, particularly the procurement, processing and shipment of cocoa and other agricultural commodities.
He said the successful closure of the new issuance alongside the redemption of the previous commercial paper reflected the company’s deliberate approach to managing funding requirements and repayment obligations.
According to him, “Closing this issuance while fully redeeming Series 21 at maturity reflects our focus on matching funding to operating cash flows, managing maturities deliberately and maintaining adequate liquidity throughout the business cycle.”
The company disclosed that the transaction followed an extensive investor engagement programme, including management meetings and tours of selected Johnvents facilities, which allowed investors to assess its operations, processing capacity, inventory cycle and integrated value chain.
The Acting Managing Director of Regius Capital, Kayode Omosebi, said the engagements provided investors with a clearer understanding of the relationship between the company’s operating assets, inventory cycle, cash generation and repayment capacity.
He noted that the oversubscription reflected institutional interest in well-structured credit opportunities and the importance of transparent engagement between companies and investors.
The transaction was led by United Capital Plc and Regius Capital Limited, alongside other joint issuing houses, advisers and transaction parties.
Johnvents said its expansion strategy was also aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s non-oil export base, creating employment opportunities and supporting businesses across its network of farmers, aggregators, transporters, distributors and service providers.
