Victor EzejaThe bid for return by the former FBN Holdings chairman, Oba Otudeko, has met a stiff opposing as stakeholders and other parties have stood against it.
Oba Otudeko, chairman of Nigerian conglomerate, Honeywell Group, recently acquired 4.8 billion shares of FBN Holdings through Barbican Capital Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group.
Otudeko controls Honeywell Flour Mill, where he owns a 75 per cent stake in the company through Siloam Global Services Limited.
With the deal worth N87.8 billion, Otudeko is expected to take over from Nigerian billionaires Femi Otedola and Mike Adenuga, thereby making him the largest shareholder of FBN Holdings (14 per cent of the bank’s outstanding market value). The acquisition now gives Barbican Capital a 13.3 per cent equity stake in FBN Holdings, said Adewale Arogundade, the financial institution’s acting secretary while responding to notification of shareholding received from Honeywell Group.
Subsequently, FBN Holdings wrote to the Nigerian Exchange notifying it of the 13.3 percent holding in the financial services group by Barbican Capital Limited.
However, there are moves to stop him from returning as chairman.
Eco Bank Nigeria has written FBN Holdings Plc, asking it not to recognise the 4.8 billion shares acquired by Otudeko over.
According to the bank, Otudeko has failed to clear a debt totaling N13.5 billion.
It made the request through its solicitor, ‘Kunle Ogunba & Associates, in a letter dated 7 July 2023.
The bank further disclosed that it had initiated a legal action against Honeywell Group Limited, Anchorage Leisures Limited, Siloam Global Services Limited and Mr Otudeko at the Federal High Court in Lagos, with the aim of recovering the debt.
The letter explained that the four had disputed their indebtedness to Ecobank, but a Supreme Court judgment on 27 January 2023, affirmed the indebtedness, ordering them to pay N13.5 billion from the loan contract said to be personally guaranteed by Mr Otudeko.
The solicitors accused Otudeko of making attempts to divert his assets/funds and those of the companies owing while refusing to obey the Supreme Court judgment and repay the debt.
They said it is a deliberate strategy to frustrate the apex court ruling on the matter.
“Instead of taking urgent steps to repay their indebtedness in line with the mandate of the Supreme Court, it has come to our notice that Dr Oba Otudeko (being the prime mover and alter ego of the debtor companies who personally guaranteed to repay the said debt) has taken active steps to divert his assets/funds and those of the debtor companies.
“This he has done by using a company known as Barbican Capital Limited (special purpose vehicle), which was recently and hurriedly incorporated after the judgment of the Supreme Court (specifically on 9th March 2023,” the solicitors stated.
The lawyers further urged FBN Holding to disapprove of the shares adding “proceeding with such approval/registration will be tantamount to assisting in the diversion of funds/assets meant for the payment of the debt, which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court.”
Otudeko had chaired the FBN Holdings’ board until April 2021 when his tenure abruptly ended following a clampdown on the company by the Central Bank of Nigeria over a financial crisis caused by improper issuance and obtaining of loans that affected the capital liquidity ratio of the company.
According to reports, there are also moves by major shareholders of the financial institution to stop Otudeko’s takeover in order to prevent a repeat of what happened before.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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