Fakoyejo OlalekanNigerian billionaire investors have been busy in the Nigerian stock market this year, selling off their shares for various reasons in the last ten months.
Prime Business Africa tracked the market activities of five major investors in Nigerian quoted companies, and gathered they have sold over N88.14 billion worth of shares held in their various firms.
List of investors who have sold off shares in 2022
Femi Otedola/First Bank
On June 6, 2022, Femi Otedola sold about 800 million shares in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, from the 2.71 billion shares he acquired in First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings. His action aligned with those of his colleague billionaire investors.
He had acquired direct holdings of 210 million shares and indirect stake of 2.50 billion shares of FBN Holdings in the second half of 2022 to own 7.56% ownership stake in the firm.
However, he sold N7.96 billion worth of shares in the last month of second quarter this year, after gaining N3 billion on the investment he made in H2 2021.
Otedola took out the sum amid plans by his company, Geregu Power, to expand its operational capacity by buying another power plant. His investment company, Amperion, which is the largest investor in Geregu Power, has been selected as one of the bidders for the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP).
READ ALSO:Femi Otedola: Geregu List Shares On NGX, As Billionaire Eyes Acquisition Of New Power Plant
Note that Otedola had also listed Geregu Power on the Nigerian stock exchange this month.
Jim Ovia/Zenith Bank
Over 8.03 million shares were sold by Zenith Bank chairman, Jim Ovia, on August 29, 2022. The shares sold by Ovia are worth N176.78 million, according to analysis.
The shares are held through Quantum Zenith Securities, an investment company owned by Ovia. Prior to the sell off, he had acquired N24.35 million worth of shares (one million shares) on May 9.
Ovia had sold the shares amid a decline in Zenith Bank’s share value, which indicated investors low confidence in the firm in the first half of this year. During this period, investors distancing themselves from Zenith Bank stock resulted to it losing over 14%.
Adeniyi Makanjuola/Caverton Offshore Group
Adeniyi Makanjuola is a substantial investor in Caverton Offshore Group. He sold 2.56 million shares worth N3.03 million between June 3 to 15 on the Nigerian stock exchange.
Also, 200,000 shares were sold by his brother, Aderemi Makanjuola, who happens to be the chairman of Caverton Offshore, and representative of Molar Vessels Supply Limited.
Both brothers sold the shares at a time the company was struggling financially, with Caverton’s revenue falling by -39.3% in Q2 2022, after generating N6 billion, which is below the N9.90 billion grossed in Q2 2021.
Its net profit had also failed to surpass the N3.17 billion Caverton recorded last year second quarter, as it generated N330.39 million in Q2 2021.
Their financial problem was compounded by the loss of Chevron contract to its aviation market rival, Bristow Helicopter, due to allegations of inability to provide required services.
Other allegations included poor maintenance of its aircrafts and failure to pay workers’ salary. The allegation followed a crash involving Caverton aircraft, which killed two pilots and nine passengers.
Oba Otudeko/Honeywell Flour
In November last year, Honeywell Flour Mills’ majority investor and chairman, Oba Otudeko, agreed to sell his stake to his company’s market rival, Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN).
The deal which is valued at N80 billion was only approved in April 2022 by Nigerian regulators, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC).
The trend is in line with what other billionaire investors experienced.
Otudeko sold 71.69 per cent stake out of the 74.56 per cent stake held by his investment firm, Siloam Global Services Limited, in Honeywell.
The selloff came a year after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sacked him from his chairman position in First Bank of Nigeria (FBN). Honeywell had been accused of obtaining unserviced loan from FBN, and the sell off by Otudeko was reportedly done to help with the loan repayment.
Yemi Adefisan/LivingTrust Mortgage Bank
The majority shareholder of LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, Yemi Adefisan, is also a notable name to mention amongst major investors that sold off their shares this year.
Adefisan, who is the Non-Executive Director in the firm, handling policymaking and oversight function on management’s decision, sold over 2.72 million shares.
The shares sold between June 8 and 17 are worth N3.10 million. Prior to the sell off, Adefisan owned 2.98 billion shares in LivingTrust Mortgage Bank. He held 59.75% ownership of the firm through Cititrust Holdings.
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