FBN Holdings Plc, owners of First Bank Nigeria, has confirmed Nigerian billionaire investor, Femi Otedola, as its majority shareholder after the acquisition of 5.07 percent of its shares from the company.
The holdings, in a statement on Saturday, said this in a notification signed by its company secretary, Seye Kosoko, submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
This is as FBNH valuation rose to N440 billion on the back of share ramp-ups.
Less than 24 hours after the FBNH team denied in a notification of possible acquisition of shares by Mr Femi Otedola, it has now been confirmed that the billionaire had acquired a 5.07 percent equity stake in the company.
The FBNH said it received notification from APT Securities and Funds Limited, “that Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee, Calvados Global Services Limited, have acquired a total of 1,818, 551,625 units of shares from the Company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292791.”
“Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee in the company is now 5.07%,” the notice stated.
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In the first half of the 2021 financial statement, FBNH indicated the group has no single individual with at least 5 percent shareholding as the figure made available put its free float at 99.71 percent.
From a low point of N7.30 early in the year, FBNH share price peaked at N12.40, according to a mid-day report on Friday before it settled at N12.25 per share at the close of the week trading session.
The First Bank deal marks Otedola’s foray into the banking sector, having sold off his shareholding in Forte Oil Plc in 2019 to consolidate his investment in Geregu Power Plc.
The acquisition will boost Otedola’s shareholding above that of Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan Odukale, two of the firm’s biggest owners with 1.5 percent and 1.03 percent holdings, respectively.
