Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, purchased 706.1 million new shares in the banking group on Wednesday, according to a market disclosure. The acquisition increased his stake in the corporation to 21.95 percent.
Transaction Details
The tycoon executed the purchase through Calvados Global Services Limited, his special purpose vehicle, in various deals valued at N77.6 billion. The latest share purchase places him approximately one percent away from matching RC Investment, the current largest stakeholder with a 22.94 percent holding in the company.
RC Investment emerged as the trustee for 10.4 billion shares in July last year, which were simultaneously sold by Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan-Odukale, two of First HoldCo's top shareholders at the time, in a single-day trade. Previously, Otudeko held his stake through Barbican Capital Limited, while Hassan-Odukale held via Leadway Group & Affiliates.
Otedola's Accumulation Strategy
Mr. Otedola has been steadily accumulating First HoldCo shares since 2021, when he first became the largest shareholder of the financial services group. His most recent acquisition prior to this was in June, when he added 672.9 million shares valued at N29.6 billion to his holdings. That purchase was completed during the N45 billion second tranche of the lender's N350 billion private placement programme, where each unit was sold for N44.
Impact on First HoldCo
First HoldCo became Nigeria's most valuable bank stock on Monday, though it lost that position to Zenith Bank on Tuesday, when it was valued at N4.77 trillion compared to Zenith's N4.84 trillion. The group plans to inject the capital raised from the private placement programme into First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its commercial banking division, as part of its capital restoration and balance sheet strengthening initiatives.
First HoldCo is aiming to increase its paid-up capital to N1 trillion, having secured shareholders' approval at its annual general meeting in May.
