Otedola raises First HoldCo stake to 25.88% after N222.2bn share purchase
Femi Otedola
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has increased his ownership in the financial group after his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited, acquired 1.77 billion shares worth N222.20 billion.
This was made known in a statement by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
The purchase lifts Otedola’s holdings in First HoldCo from 9.99 billion shares to 11.77 billion shares, and raises his stake from 21.96 percent to 25.88 percent.
It is his second acquisition in July; he bought 706.13 million shares valued at N77.58 billion on July 22.
Otedola’s total investment in First HoldCo now stands at about N1.47 trillion, making him the single largest investor in the company on record.
Under the Investments and Securities Act and Securities and Exchange Commission rules on mergers and acquisitions, any shareholder who crosses the 30 percent threshold for voting shares must make a mandatory takeover offer to remaining shareholders.
Otedola’s latest transaction brings him closer to that threshold but does not trigger it.
The share purchase comes weeks after First HoldCo overtook Zenith Bank to become Nigeria’s most valuable bank on the Nigerian Exchange, following a sustained rally in First HoldCo’s stock price.
