Billionaire business man, Femi Otedola, acquires majority shares of FBN Holdings, owners of First Bank.

Billionaire business man, Femi Otedola, has acquired the majority shares of FBN Holdings, owners of First Bank.

Otedola is reportedly behind a massive mop-up of the shares of FBN Holdings, which would result in his becoming the single majority shareholder of the company.

Sources with knowledge of the purchase said majority ownership of FBN Holdings, owners of Nigeria’s oldest bank, First Bank, is about to be upturned following months of slow and meticulous purchase of the company shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange by Otedola.

Otedola has been gradually accumulating his ownership and surpassing shares owned by any other single shareholder of the bank.

An official announcement would be coming in the days ahead.

Otedola has been acquiring the shares of the bank through a vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited.

FBNH currently has 34.7 billion of its shares floating freely meaning it is held by diverse shareholders. This makes the shares easy to acquire on the stock exchange.

was gathered that Otedola, through his proxies and investing vehicles, now owns over five per cent of the bank, setting himself up to be the single largest shareholder of the bank.

Industry assumptions have often suggested billionaire Oba Otudeko is the single majority owner of the bank, considering the enormous control he wielded over the bank for years. However, his latest debacle with the Central Bank following the failed removal of current MD/CEO Adesola Adeduntan marked a sudden end to his control of the bank providing an opening for Mr Otedola to move in on controlling the bank.

The latest audited account of FBN Holdings does not have any shareholder with up to 5% of the ownership of the bank’s shares. However, Mr Otedola now owns over 5% of the bank.

FBNH currently has a total outstanding shareholding of 39.5 billion units and a market capitalization of N423.5 billion. According to information contained in the 2020 FY report of the bank, 40 shareholders owned 31.03% of the bank while no individual shareholder held more than 5% of the bank.