Otedola acquires 1.78 billion First HoldCo shares, lifts stake to 25.86%

Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, has increased his stake in the financial services group to 25.86 per cent after acquiring 1.78 billion additional shares worth about ₦222.20 billion.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, First HoldCo disclosed that Mr Otedola, through Calvados Global Services Limited, purchased 1,779,094,976 ordinary shares at ₦124.90 per share. The new share purchase represents 3.91 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares.

Following the transaction, Mr Otedola’s total holding in the banking group rose to about 11.8 billion shares, which is equivalent to 25.86 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.

Based on the company’s share price of ₦122.95 as of 11:24 a.m. (WAT) on 30 July, Mr Otedola’s stake is valued at about ₦1.45 trillion.

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Mr Otedola has steadily increased his investment in First HoldCo since emerging as the company’s largest shareholder in 2021.

Most recently, on 22 July, he acquired an additional 706.1 million shares valued at ₦77.6 billion, raising his stake to 21.95 per cent at the time. In June, he also purchased 672.9 million shares worth ₦29.6 billion.

The June acquisition was completed during the ₦45 billion second tranche of First HoldCo’s ₦350 billion private placement programme, in which shares were offered at ₦44 per unit.

The group plans to inject the proceeds from the capital raise into First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its flagship commercial banking subsidiary, as part of its capital restoration and broader balance sheet strengthening programme.