The listing of the shares is expected to boost the market capitalisation of the NSE by about N14 billion, while CWG would be the highest capitalised security in the ICT sector of the exchange.
Already, there is high excitement in the capital market community as stakeholders in the market await the proposed listing of a leading pan-African Information Communications Technology (ICT) Company, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) next month.
The company, which has Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and Cordros Capital Limited as financial advisers, has secured the approval of regulators to list 2.5 billion shares on the Nigerian bourse in November.
CWG with regional operations in Ghana, Cameroon and Uganda, had outstanding operating success, operating as a private company for many years before deciding to go public and get listed on the NSE.
Computer Warehouse Group incorporated in February 2005, as a holding company for CWL Systems Limited, DCC Networks Limited and ExpertEdge Software Limited benefits from a diversified revenue base generated across the ICT industry value chain comprising communications, hardware and software. The company has long standing partnerships with leading global ICT players such as Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, EMC, Infosys, Wincor- Nixdorf and Symantec amongst others.
In terms of return on equity CWG is said to have posted an average return in excess of 20 per cent between 2008 and 2012 and with strategies already put in place, the impressive performance is expected to be sustained in the coming years.
CWG, which has Mr. Austin Okere as Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, has prominent individual and corporate shareholders including Aureos Africa Fund LLC, a leading private equity firm.
The company has a diversified customer base including customers in Telecom, Oil & Gas, Government, Education, Manufacturing, and Financial services sectors with operations in 18 of 36 Nigerian states and regional operations in Ghana, Cameroon and Uganda. Some of her customers include: Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, First Bank of Nigeria, United Bank for Africa, Unilever, Cadbury, Nestlé, Etisalat and MTN Group amongst others.
CWG currently provides ICT infrastructural support to 14 of the 22 banks in Nigeria, and the largest data centre in Africa outside of South Africa.
It has also deployed and supports over 3,500 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nigeria out of the installed base of about 11,000 ATMs.
In terms of software, CWG has deployed and supports the Finacle banking application which is being used by eleven financial institutions in Nigeria, including FBN, UBA, and Stanbic IBTC amongst others, while the company also provides wide area networks to 18 banks.