Billionaire investor and Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has increased his controlling stake in the financial services group to 20.42 percent after acquiring 680.8 million additional shares through a private placement.
Gatekeepers News reports that the acquisition, valued at approximately N29.6 billion, was completed at N44 per share — below First HoldCo’s closing market price of N61 on Thursday.
A source familiar with the transaction said Otedola and another institutional shareholder acquired about 90 percent of the N45 billion worth of shares offered by the company under the private placement exercise.
“The private placement has been completed and Mr. Otedola acquired about 680.8 million shares investing about N30 billion in the bank (Holdco). Another institutional investor who is a shareholder acquired most of the rest,” the source said.
The latest purchase raises Otedola’s total holdings in First HoldCo to approximately 9.29 billion shares, strengthening his position as the company’s largest shareholder.
Following the successful completion of the private placement, First HoldCo’s share capital has increased to N525.6 billion, surpassing the N500 billion minimum capital requirement stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks with international operations.
The development comes as First HoldCo continues efforts to strengthen its capital base and support the recapitalisation of its banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria.
TheCable had earlier reported that the company completed the second tranche of its ongoing N350 billion private placement programme. The proceeds are expected to be injected into First Bank of Nigeria Limited as part of a broader capital restoration and balance sheet strengthening strategy.
Otedola has steadily increased his stake in the group over the past year. In May, he acquired 549.53 million shares valued at N43.41 billion through Calvados Global Services Limited, his investment vehicle.
The latest transaction forms part of First HoldCo’s broader plan to build a N1 trillion capital base.
At the company’s 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in May, shareholders approved plans to raise up to N253.09 billion through a mix of public offers, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends and other equity instruments in both domestic and international markets.
