Otedola Hikes Stake in First HoldCo to 27.70% With Fresh Acquisition

By Adedapo Adesanya

The chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Mr Femi Otedola, has acquired a further 95.7 million new shares in the banking group, taking his stake in the company to 27.70 per cent.

In a regulatory filing signed by the group’s Company Secretary, Abiola Baruwa, on Monday, it was disclosed that Mr Otedola purchased 95,699,240 additional shares at N131.48 per share, valued at N12.58 billion.

The additional share purchase represents 0.21 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares and was made through Calvados Global Services Limited.

After the purchase, Mr Otedola now holds about 12.14 billion shares in the financial institution, representing 27.70 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares.

He continues to near the 30 per cent threshold, which would give the billionaire a legally binding opportunity to take over the 132-year-old financial institution.

Nigeria’s takeover rules require any shareholder that acquires 30 per cent or more of a listed company to make a mandatory offer to the remaining shareholders.

Based on the financial institution’s opening price of N129.95 on Monday at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the First HoldCo chair’s total shareholding in the company is valued at about N1.58 trillion.

The new share acquisition is another purchase by Mr Otedola in recent times, as the businessman has been increasing his investment in the financial institution.

In recent weeks, the tycoon has cumulatively purchased over 2.16 billion shares of the lender. The latest share purchase is the third time in August that Mr Otedola has increased his stake in the financial services group, following his acquisitions of 147.7 million and 138 million shares on 17 August and 7 August, respectively.

Also, on July 30, Mr Otedola increased his stake in the financial services group by acquiring an additional 1.78 billion shares at N124.90 per share, valued at about N222.2 billion.

The steady accumulation of shares has further strengthened Mr Otedola’s position as First HoldCo’s largest shareholder, overtaking RC Investment, the bridge holder that previously held the largest stake in the company at about 22.94 per cent.

RC Investment emerged in July 2025 as the trustee for 10.4 billion shares simultaneously offloaded by Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan-Odukale, who were among First HoldCo’s major shareholders at the time, in a single-day transaction.