First HoldCo shares climbed to an all-time high of N159.90 on Tuesday, pushing the value of Chairman Femi Otedola’s stake in the financial services group to about $1.42 billion.
Otedola, who holds approximately 12.34 billion shares, representing about 27.6 per cent of the company, has steadily increased his position through a series of purchases since May.
His latest acquisition was made through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services, which bought 95.7 million shares at N131.48 each on August 24 for N12.58 billion.
At Tuesday’s record price, First HoldCo’s shares had gained 21.6 per cent since Otedola’s most recent purchase, adding about N350.6 billion, or $252 million, to the value of his stake in eight days.
The billionaire’s buying spree has continued throughout the year. He acquired 549.54 million shares in May for N43.41 billion and obtained another 672.9 million shares through a private placement in June at N44 each.
He subsequently bought 706.13 million shares on July 22 for N77.58 billion, followed by 1.78 billion shares on July 30 at N124.90 each in a transaction valued at N222.21 billion.
Two additional purchases were made in August: 138.04 million shares at N131.20 each on August 6 and 147.74 million shares at N140 each on August 14. His August 24 purchase brought the latest round of acquisitions to a close. All of Otedola’s purchases this year were made below Tuesday’s closing price.
First HoldCo is the parent company of FirstBank, Nigeria’s oldest bank, which was founded in 1894. Otedola became chairman of First HoldCo in January 2024 and has publicly stated his intention to increase his stake in the company to more than 51 per cent.
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At Tuesday’s share price, achieving that target would require Otedola to acquire about 10.49 billion additional shares, based on First HoldCo’s approximately 44.77 billion outstanding shares. The additional stake would cost about $1.21 billion at the current market price.
Before reaching the 51 per cent threshold, however, Otedola faces a regulatory milestone. Nigerian takeover rules require a mandatory offer for the remaining shares when an investor’s stake exceeds 30 per cent.
Otedola currently sits about 2.4 percentage points below that threshold, with each recent acquisition increasing his ownership by roughly 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points.
The funds for the acquisitions came partly from the sale of his controlling interest in Geregu Power. Otedola sold his 95 per cent stake in the power company to MA’AM Energy on December 29 for N1.088 trillion, or about $750 million. The transaction was financed by a consortium led by Zenith Bank.
Otedola has followed a similar strategy with other Nigerian companies. He acquired a controlling interest in African Petroleum, renamed it Forte Oil and eventually sold his stake in 2019.
He later increased his interest in Geregu Power to 95 per cent, took the company public on the Nigerian Exchange in 2022 and subsequently sold his stake.
The sustained buying has also contributed to First HoldCo’s rise in the stock market. In July, the company overtook Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Zenith Bank by market capitalization, becoming the first Nigerian banking group to exceed N6 trillion, or about $4.4 billion, and the country’s most valuable listed lender. First HoldCo shares began the year at N47.90 but have more than tripled since then.
The company’s financial performance has also strengthened during the period. First HoldCo reported profit after tax of N526.1 billion for the six months ended June, representing an 81.6 per cent increase from N289.77 billion recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier.
The improvement was supported by lower impairment charges, better asset quality and stronger trading income. Otedola has not disclosed any further share purchase since his August 24 acquisition.
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