Nigeria’s billionaire business man Femi Otedola has raised his equity stake in FirstHoldCo, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria Limited with recent share purchase deal valued at about N2billion.

According to Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filings, Otedola on September 23 bought 39,313,379 shares at N31 per share; deal valued at N1.21billion.

Also the same day and at the same price of N31 per share, Calvados Global Services Limited, a company related to Otedola, acquired 25,565,289 ordinary shares worth N792.5 million.

The billionaire’s direct shareholding has now risen to 3,251,346,245 units (7.77 percent ) following the latest acquisitions, while his indirect holdings now stand at 3,491,125,586 units (8.34 percent).

At current price of N31 per share, Otedola’s 6.742 billion units are valued at N209 billion.

FirstHoldCo shares had reached a 52-week high of N37.5 per share as against 52-week low of N23.05.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had granted a “no objection” to the N323.45 billion FirstHoldco off-market deal that occurred on July 16.

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The June 16 transaction involved the sale of over 10.4 billion shares in FirstHoldco by entities linked to Oba Otudeko and Tunde Hassan-Odukale to RC Investment Management.

RC Investment has since been identified as a trustee acting under an arrangement coordinated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and FirstHoldco.

In its June 19 note, FirstHoldCo noted that it will sustain its dividend payment policy.

“In respect of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) circular with reference BSD/DIR/CON/
LAB/018/008 concerning regulatory forbearance in respect of Single Obligor Limit (SOL) and other credit facilities, First HoldCo Plc wishes to provide the following clarifications: The SOL breach of our primary subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, is related to two customers with foreign currency loans arising from over 200 percent currency devaluation in 2023/2024.

“With the planned completion of the capital raise in the second half of 2025 among other measures, the bank will cure the breach in this regard. Furthermore, the bank’s forborne loans are in respect of syndicated facilities that are industry exposures. The consortium of lenders is working to re-tenor the facilities to align with their cashflows as all the assets are back to active production and generating appreciable revenue.

“Some also have receivables that are awaiting payment from relevant agencies of government. Syndicate lenders will ensure the processes are concluded within the current financial year. Any loan not fully re-tenored will be fully provisioned and exit forbearance.

“As a well-diversified financial holding Company, FirstHoldCo will sustain its dividend payments in 2025 and beyond as we remain committed to our esteemed stakeholders,” FirstHoldCo said.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with over 18 years journalism experience writing on banking, finance and capital markets. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA).

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