As the morning sun hit the Lagos trading floor on February 4, the buy orders in favour of First Holdco Plc stocks began to flood in.
Few hours into Wednesday’s trading session, the stock surged by N4.4 or 9.92 percent to hit N48.75, as investors continued to bet on the billionaire chairman’s assurance on the company’s future. On Wednesday, the stock reached daily maximum limit of circa 10 percent by noon.
The stock had flipped the script in early trading on Tuesday on hitting daily maximum limit, it has now returned above N45 range, the same level it occupied before the earnings sell-off began.
The swift recovery suggests the market has fully priced in the “clean slate” narrative championed by First Holdco billionaire chairman Femi Otedola. Investors have also realised the company’s profit crash wasn’t a sign of weakness, but a reset for growth and transparency.
Read also: First Holdco sees early rally as value investors buy the dip
“Rebuilding and restructuring a behemoth like First Holdco Plc will come with a lot of disruptions including both pleasant and unpleasant surprises.
“We must pull things apart, remove old faulty foundations and build a new experience for all our stakeholders. This is our current reality at FirstHoldco Plc but surely a new beginning here for all of us!!”, Otedola wrote on his official X handle.
Following First Holdco’s bold decision to take a massive N748.13 billion one-time impairment charge to clean up its balance sheet, the stock’s initial 9 percent plunge quickly transformed into a high-stakes entry point.
Investors, watching First Holdco’s green bars climb on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), are increasingly placing their order to buy First Holdco, “to the extent that many daily orders are not being met by stockbrokers”, an informed market source told BusinessDay.
This big bet follows a “surgical strike” by the billionaire-led board to effectively de-risked the institution for 2026.
First Holdco has cleared the decks of its legacy bad loans, turning what looked like an earnings disaster into a rare, discounted window for investors looking to ride the next era of growth.
“A new beginning that guarantees corporate sustainability and longevity fuelled by the tenacity of purpose and veracity of vision supported by our core pillars of transparency, accountability, and long-term value for all stakeholders.
“I remain grounded in our pursuit to build a world class financial institution without distractions whilst my commitment to continue to invest my all; financial and otherwise, remains unflinching,” Otedola further wrote on his official X handle.
Lagos-based Meristem Research analysts in their recent note set a target price (TP) for First Holdco share price at N73.22, representing an upside potential of 62.70 percent from N45 the stock closed last week.
Read also: First Holdco raises N83.7 billion from private placement
Analysts said investors are not just buying a bank stock, but they are buying the reconstruction, noting that when the biggest shareholder is doubling down, you don’t bet against the house.
Otedola had divested his majority ownership in Geregu Power Plc in a deal estimated at $750 million, financed by a consortium of lenders led by Zenith Bank, but raised his stake in the financial services group to 18.1 percent, according to the company’s unaudited financial report for 2025 released last Friday.
The billionaire’s direct shareholding in First Holdco stood at 7.3 percent or 3.3 billion shares as at December 31, 2025 while his indirect interest came to 10.8 percent or 4.8 billion shares.
Altogether, his combined stake sums up to 8.06 billion shares. Otedola had in early December 2025 acquired 370 million shares at N40.1 each, putting the value of the transaction at N14.8 billion. He purchased the shares through Calvados Global Services Limited, his special purpose acquisition vehicle, according to a regulatory filing at the NGX.
