Access Holdings Plc’s shares plunged on the news of the death of co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe.
The shares of Access dropped 1.15 per cent to N23.2. The shares fell as low as N22.5 before it rebound to N23.2 as analysts believe the group is well-positioned to continue its successes without its co-founder.
Access stocks have been on the rise from around N7 in 2021 to over N24 in 2024 following the aggressive expansion of the group and the ingenuity of the iconic co-founder.
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But investors reacted negatively to the news of Wigwe’s death, leading to AccessCorp’s market capitalisation falling to N824.6bn from N879.7bn.
The stock lost N55.1bn due to the reaction to the death of Wigwe.
Talks on the succession of the GCEO have begun according to Access Holding Board Chairman, Abubakar Jimoh and an announcement will be made soon.
“At the end of the day, succession planning only works if you have some building blocks that are correct or a firm foundation. It works best in a meritocracy where people are naturally being assessed or rewarded on the basis of their contribution and abilities.
“And then also it works in an environment where what drives the decision as what vacancy you fill is your shared vision of the orgainisation,” the founder of Stanbic IBTC and close associate of the late GCEO said during a monitored interview.
Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mustafa Chike-Obi said on Wigwe’s succession that it will be smooth as there is already a succession plan in place.
“I think that the vision of Access Bank was created, nurtured and shared by Aigboje (Aig-Imoukhuede), and luckily for us, Aigboje is still around.
“So, the vision is alive. I believe that based on that, the succession planning will be smooth and it will be fairly obvious,” Chike-Obi said on Arise Tv.