Prime Business Africa
Femi Otedola, the chairman and majority shareholder in First HoldCo Plc, has acquired 95.69 million shares of the financial institution on Monday, as the billionaire aims for 51 percent controlling stake.
In a share dealing by an insider notification obtained by Prime Business Africa (PBA) from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Otedola spent N12.58 billion to acquire the shares via his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe acquisition, according to Prime Business Africa’s analysis, increases Otedola’s shareholding in First HoldCo to 12.14 billion shares, from 12.04 billion on August 17.
Analysis of his new acquisition shows that Otedola now has N1.55 trillion investment in First HoldCo, which is below the N1.68 billion his 12.04 billion shares were worth as of August 17.
The value of his investment is down by 7.91 percent or N133.55 billion due to a 8.64 percent decline in the value of First HoldCo’s share price, which has dropped by N12.1 kobo to N127.9 kobo as of August 24, from N140 per share on August 12.
However, while the value of his investment in First HoldCo is on the decline, his stake in the financial institution is on the rise based on the accumulated shares, soaring from 26.49 percent to 26.70 percent during the period under review.
Otedola’s stake in First HoldCo is gradually closing on the 30 percent threshold, set by the NGX, which requires a majority shareholder to trigger a mandatory takeover of shares of the remaining minority shareholders of the company.
Prime Business Africa notes that the share price of First HoldCo is declining despite Otedola hinting of increasing his stake to 51 percent, after stating that his “investment threshold is always over and above 51 percent” during an interview.
While Otedola assured that his investment in First HoldCo is long term, his footprint in the stock market has drawn a cloud over his long term ambition for the financial institution, as Geregu, a power-generating company, he recently sold his entire shares from has been experiencing a decline in their share value.
Since Otedola told his stake in Geregu in December 2025, the company’s share value has depreciated by 27.66 percent.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
