Nigerian business mogul, Femi Otedola has sold his majority stake in Geregu Power Plc for N1.088 trillion.
Gatekeepers News reports that according tonthe Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), the transaction was funded by a banking consortium led by Zenith Bank Plc.
Otedola’s Amperion Power Distribution Company Ltd, which previously owned nearly 80 percent of the power‑generating firm, completed the sale to MA’AM Energy Ltd, making the latter the new controlling shareholder of Amperion.
Although Otedola retains a small shareholding, his indirect controlling stake in Geregu now passes to MA’AM Energy. According to the NGX filing, this change affects the beneficial ownership of about 77 percent of Geregu’s issued share capital, even though Geregu’s direct shareholdings at the exchange remain unchanged.
The shift in ownership has also brought changes to the board of Geregu Power. Senator Abdul‑Aziz Abubakar Yari has been appointed board chairman, replacing Otedola, while Abdulkadeer Babangida Njiddah, an accounting and finance expert, has joined as a non‑executive director.
Otedola, who also serves as chairman of First Holdco Ltd, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, is reportedly refocusing his efforts on expanding his interests in Nigeria’s banking sector. He currently holds about 17.01 percent of First Bank, making him its largest single shareholder since the lender was founded in 1894.
His business journey began in the energy sector with Zenon Oil, a diesel marketing company he established in 2003 that at one point controlled roughly 93 percent of Nigeria’s diesel market.
He later acquired African Petroleum (AP) in 2007, rebranding it as Forte Oil before exiting in 2019 to invest in power generation. Since taking over Geregu, generation capacity has grown from 80MW to about 435MW.
First Bank’s share price, which was around N5 when Otedola began investing, has climbed to approximately N53 recently, reflecting strong performance in the financial market.
