Sule Ali (real name withheld), a Plateau State resident, paid N1.607 million for privately placed shares of Etisalat, now known as 9Mobile, through FSDH Asset Management Limited (FAML) in April 2009. 15 years later, he knows nothing about the status of the investment.

FAML, a subsidiary of FSDH Holding Company Limited, is an asset management and financial advisory firm in Nigeria.

Checks by EQ show that Premium Telecommunications Holdings Limited (PTHL), a special purpose vehicle which holds the interests of Nigerian investors in Etisalat Nigeria, had offered 35 million shares for sale via Private Placement in March 2009.

Further checks showed that FSDH Asset Management Limited was the issuing house. It offered each share at $10 per unit.

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According to a memorandum issued by the asset management company in 2009, the original minimum investment amount for potential investors was $1 million.

However, to pool interested investors who were unable to meet the minimum requirement, it created the FAML/PTHL Investment Fund.

The front page of the information memorandum for the FAML/PTHL fund. Screenshot taken by EQ.

Screenshot containing details of the FAML/PTHL Investment Fund.

This FAML/PTHL Investment Fund was what Ali invested in. The cost of the 1,050 units of shares allotted to him at the time was $10,500.

Part of the investment terms for this FAML/PTHL fund was that investors had to buy a minimum of 700 units. FAML used the exchange rate of N152 to $1, meaning the amount in naira was N1,607,970. Out of this amount, N1,596,000 was the actual cost of Ali’s shares while N11,970 was the participation fee.

Ali’s application form.

Ali’s cheque dated April 14, 2009.

Acknowledgement letter from FSDH Asset Management Limited.

Meanwhile, the document from FAML states the following: The shareholders of PTHL reserve the right to withdraw the offer or to amend the offer dates at any time, without prior notice and without stating the reasons for the withdrawal or amendment.

EQ understands that, as Ali’s issuing house in this shares placement, FAML is meant to update him on the status of his investment. He told EQ that the last time he heard from FAML was in October 2016.

EQ also gathered that FAML facilitated annual investors’ forums between 2009 when Ali bought his shares and 2016, as evidenced in screenshots of emails made available to EQ. The essence of the forums was to provide investors with updates on their investments.

Email notice of the investors’ forum for 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Email on the investors’ forum for 2016

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“I have never received a kobo as a return from the investment. I do not even know the status of my investment,” Ali told EQ on Friday.

He sent an email to the FSDH investment company on August 8 to inquire about his investment, but he got no response from the company. The only response he got was an automated email, notifying him that the email addresses he copied was no longer active in the organisation.

It has been 15 years since Ali paid $10,500 for 1,050 units of FAML/PTHL shares. He expects his payment to be calculated based on $10,500 at the current exchange rate.

Efforts to reach the investment company proved abortive. In response to the email EQ sent on Thursday, FSDH sent an automated message saying it would respond within business hours. No response has been received since then.

When EQ called the phone number on FSDH’s website on Tuesday, there was no answer as well.
The post FSDH Asset Management Mute on $10,500 ‘Etisalat’ Shares Purchased by Plateau Businessman in 2009 appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.