Femi Otedola, the chairman and majority shareholder of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings, has increased his stake in the financial giant.
This acquisition adds a staggering N16 billion worth of shares to his portfolio.
The purchase of 534,094,407 shares between September 23 and 25 has raised Otedola’s stake from 11.67 percent to 13.15 percent.
This shift highlights Otedola’s commitment to FBN Holdings and positions him firmly at the helm of the company.
FBN Holdings confirmed the acquisition in a statement released to the capital market.
According to the statement, Otedola’s total shareholding in FBN Holdings is now 4,721,697,111 shares, which is valued at N136.9 billion as of September 25.
This increase significantly widens the gap between Otedola and Barbican Capital Limited, the second-largest investor in FBN Holdings, which holds an 8.67 percent stake.
Barbican Capital’s shareholding is currently valued at approximately N90.2 billion.
Despite Otedola’s significant share acquisition, there is an ongoing legal dispute over the exact shares held by Barbican Capital Limited.
The company, owned by Oba Otudeko, claims to have acquired about 5,386,397,202 shares, which would represent 15.1 percent of FBN Holdings over the years.
Barbican Capital has filed a lawsuit against FBN Holdings (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24) to resolve this issue.
In its claim, Barbican asserts that its share purchases and the dates they were issued were properly recorded by Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd.
The company also claims that the records were acknowledged in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which tracks share values for financial institutions in Nigeria.
FBN Holdings has responded to Barbican Capital’s claims, stating that the latter only notified them on July 7, 2023, regarding the acquisition of approximately 4,770,269,843 shares.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was only able to verify 3,110,400,619 shares from that total.
FBN Holdings argues that the discrepancy is due to insufficient documentation provided by Barbican Capital during the verification process.
According to the bank, Barbican Capital failed to submit requested documents that would allow the CBN to verify the entirety of its claimed shares.
