Otedola raises stake in First Bank to 13.15%

• Published On: 26 September 2024 at 20:11

Femi Otedola, the chairman and majority shareholder of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings, has increased his stake in the company to 13.15 percent.

This strategic move demonstrates Otedola's belief in FBN Holdings' potential for expansion and development in the banking sector.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by Adewale Arogundare, Acting Secretary of FBNH, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday.

Otedola increased his stake by purchasing 534,094,407 shares at N30.00 each between September 23 and 25.

The acquisition increased Otedola's stake in FBN Holdings from 11.67 percent (4,187,602,704 shares) to 13.15 percent (4,721,697,111 shares), worth N136.9 billion as of Wednesday.

This move also widens the gap between Otedola and Barbican Capital Limited, FBN Holdings' second-largest shareholder, which owns an 8.67 percent stake (3,110,400,619 shares) worth N90.2 billion as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there has been ongoing debate over the exact number of shares held by Barbican Capital in FBN Holdings.

In a lawsuit (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24) against FBN Holdings, Barbican Capital, owned by Oba Otudeko, claims to have acquired approximately 5,386,397,202 shares, or 15.1% of FBN Holdings, over various periods.

Barbican Capital stated that Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd, FBN Holdings' appointed registrars, properly recorded its share purchases and issuance dates.

This information was also confirmed by the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which detailed the value of its shares in the bank.

In response, FBN Holdings stated that Barbican Capital only informed the financial institution on July 7, 2023, about the acquisition of approximately 4,770,269,843 shares.

FBN Holdings informed the court that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) could only verify 3,110,400,619 shares out of the 4,770,269,843 that Barbican Capital claimed to have purchased.