Otedola regains position as FBN Holdings’s top shareholder

Femi Otedola, the majority owner of Geregu Power Plc, has regained the position of the biggest shareholder of the financial services group FBN Holdings, where he is the chair of the board of directors, after acquiring new shares.

Mr Otedola racked up 863.2 million of the lender’s shares in two different transactions on Thursday, according to regulatory filings at the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

The deals accounted for 99.1 per cent of the total shares traded by FBN Holdings on Thursday.

He bought 546.7 million units through Calvados Global Services Limited in a deal worth N12 billion and 316.5 million personally in his name for N6.9 billion.

As of the end of March, the business tycoon held 7.01 per cent of FBN Holdings shares: 6.98 per cent indirectly through Calvados Global Services Limited and 0.03 per cent directly.

The new acquisition takes Mr Otedola’s stake in the group to 9.4 per cent, pushing Oba Otudeko, the former chairman of the lender who holds an 8.7 per cent interest in the Holdco through Barbican Capital Limited, to the back seat.

ALSO READ: Otedola loses top shareholder spot at FBN Holdings as Otudeko acquires 13% stake

The audited annual report of the group for 2023 listed Barbican Capital as FBN Holdings’ biggest shareholder with an 8.7 per cent holding, having acquired a large volume of shares in July 2023 to displace Mr Otedola.

Mr Otedola began acquiring large volumes of FBN Holdings in 2021 through off-market deals, enabling him to topple Tunde Hassan-Odukale, the former chairman of FBN Holdings flagship subsidiary, First Bank, and become the top shareholder.

The news hit the public after the acquisitions reached the 5 per cent threshold, requiring him to make a formal disclosure to the Nigerian Exchange.

Based on the buying pressure on FBN Holdings’ shares, the stock appreciated by 64.3 per cent in the four weeks to 27 October 2021.
Shares in FBN Holdings have yielded 51 per cent in the past year.

The group reported a fourfold jump in net profit to N208.1 billion in the first quarter of the year.

Total assets currently stand at N21.6 trillion.