Nigerian billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has regained his position as the largest single shareholder of First Bank.
Otedola, who also serves as the chairman of FBN Holdings, now holds a 9.41% stake in the bank after acquiring shares worth N18.9 billion.
The acquisition was disclosed in a corporate notice filed by First Bank on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on June 20, 2024.
A breakdown of the acquisition showed Otedola directly acquired 316,506,776 shares at a share price of N21.91 each, amounting to N6.935 billion.
His holding company, Calvados Global Services Limited, also acquired 546,674,034 shares at N21.97 each, amounting to N12.01 billion.
Otedola’s latest acquisitions have increased his stake in First Bank to 9.41%, up by 2.40% from his previous 7.01% stake.
This move places him ahead of Oba Otudeko’s Barbican Capital Limited, which holds an 8.67% stake in the bank.
The journey to majority ownership has been a dynamic one for Otedola. It began in October 2021 when he first announced securing a 5.07% shareholding.
By December 2021, he had increased his stake to 7.57%.
However, he later reduced his stake to 5.24% by mid-2022 before reemerging in January 2024 as Chairman of FBN Holdings.
With his latest acquisition, Otedola appears to have fully controlled First Bank.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that FBN Holdings Plc released its unaudited financial statement for 2023, showing an impressive performance.
The company reported N362 billion profit against N136 billion the previous year, representing a 129% rise year-on-year.
The company’s results show that interest income rose to N917 billion in 2023. This shows a 66% rise from the N552 billion the previous year.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
