What Happened to Oceanic Bank Shares?

Oceanic Bank International Plc was acquired in full by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent of the Ecobank group, in October 2011. Under the scheme approved by Oceanic shareholders, Oceanic's shares were cancelled and, for every 20 Oceanic shares of 50 kobo held, holders received 1 ETI ordinary share and 0.428 ETI preference shares. Former Oceanic shareholders therefore became shareholders of ETI, which is listed on the Nigerian Exchange.

How Ecobank Took Over Oceanic

Oceanic was one of the five banks whose chief executives the Central Bank of Nigeria removed in August 2009. ETI's board approved the acquisition on 14 September 2011, Oceanic shareholders approved the scheme at a court-ordered meeting later that month, and Ecobank announced that all change of control processes were completed on 24 October 2011. ETI's 2011 annual report valued the consideration at ₦55 billion, made up of 70 per cent ETI ordinary shares and 30 per cent convertible preference shares, issued to Oceanic's shareholders and to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Oceanic was then merged into Ecobank Nigeria on 30 December 2011.

What Oceanic Shareholders Received

• For every 20 Oceanic ordinary shares of 50 kobo: 1 ETI ordinary share of US$0.025 and 0.428 ETI preference shares of US$0.1032, credited as fully paid.
• The ETI ordinary shares trade on the Nigerian Exchange as well as in Ghana and on the regional exchange for francophone West Africa (BRVM).
• The ETI preference shares were not listed on any exchange. They carried a dividend of the higher of 4 per cent of the issue price or the ordinary dividend, and no voting rights.
• Each preference share could be converted into 0.76923 ETI ordinary shares between the third and fifth anniversaries of issue. ETI told preference holders that the last day to convert was 31 October 2016, and its 2011 annual report gave ETI the right to redeem any unconverted preference shares after the fifth anniversary.

As an illustration of the arithmetic only, 20,000 Oceanic shares became 1,000 ETI ordinary shares and 428 ETI preference shares. If the preference shares were converted by the 2016 deadline, they became about 329 further ordinary shares.

Who Holds the Records Now

ETI's Nigerian register has been kept by different registrars over the years: the 2016 preference share notice named GTL Registrars. ETI's April 2026 dividend notice on the Nigerian Exchange names Greenwich Registrars & Data Solutions, at greenwichregistrars.com. That is where to ask what an Oceanic holding became, what happened to any preference shares that were not converted, and whether ETI dividends are unclaimed.

What an Old Oceanic Certificate Means Today

An Oceanic Bank certificate is not a tradeable security. Oceanic's shares were cancelled, and the certificate is evidence of the holding that was exchanged for ETI shares in 2011. Holders who never had a Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) account may still have ETI shares recorded directly on the register, often with a preference share certificate that was issued alongside.

What to Do Next

1. Collect the Oceanic certificates, any ETI preference share certificate, dividend warrants and the exact registered name.
2. Write to ETI's registrar and ask for the ETI ordinary holding, the status of any preference shares, and any unpaid dividends.
3. Complete the registrar's identity and e-dividend mandate forms. ETI declares dividends in US dollars, and the registrar will explain how Nigerian holders are paid.
4. If you want the ETI shares in a stockbroking account, arrange for them to be credited to your own CSCS account.