First HoldCo stake now worth $1.4 billion at record high -billionaire Femi Otedola

First HoldCo hit an all-time high of N159.90 on Tuesday, lifting Femi Otedola’s holding to about N1.97 trillion, roughly $1.42 billion.

First HoldCo shares reached 159.90 naira on Tuesday, an all-time high, and the man who has spent the year buying them is now sitting on a position worth about 1.97 trillion naira.

That is roughly $1.42 billion at 1,390 naira to the dollar. Femi Otedola holds approximately 12.34 billion shares, close to 27.6% of the company, built through a run of purchases stretching back to May.

The record price is worth measuring against what he paid for the most recent block. Otedola’s investment vehicle Calvados Global Services bought 95,699,240 shares at 131.48 naira on Aug. 24, spending 12.58 billion naira. The stock has risen 21.6% since that trade, adding roughly 350.6 billion naira, about $252 million, to the value of his holding in eight days.

The purchases this year alone have been relentless. He bought 549.54 million shares in May for 43.41 billion naira, took 672.9 million through a private placement at 44 naira in June, added 706.13 million on July 22 for 77.58 billion naira, then 1.78 billion shares on July 30 at 124.90 naira in a single transaction worth 222.21 billion naira. Two further blocks followed in August, 138.04 million shares at 131.20 naira on Aug. 6 and 147.74 million at 140 naira on Aug. 14, before the Aug. 24 purchase.

Every trade this year was made at a lower price than Tuesday’s close.

What he is buying is Nigeria’s oldest bank. First HoldCo is the parent of FirstBank, founded in 1894, and Otedola became its chairman in January 2024. He has said publicly that he intends to take his holding beyond 51%.

The arithmetic of that ambition has changed with the price. Reaching 51% of roughly 44.77 billion shares would require about 10.49 billion additional shares. At Tuesday’s price that would cost around $1.21 billion, close to the entire value of what he already owns.

There is a threshold before then. Nigerian takeover rules require a mandatory offer for the remaining shares once a shareholder crosses 30%, and Otedola sits about 2.4 percentage points below it. Each recent purchase has moved him roughly 0.2 to 0.3 points closer.

The money came from selling something else. Otedola disposed of his 95% controlling stake in Geregu Power to MA’AM Energy on Dec. 29 for 1.088 trillion naira, about $750 million, in a transaction financed by a consortium led by Zenith Bank, and has been converting the proceeds into bank shares ever since.

The pattern and concept is one he has used before. He took African Petroleum, renamed it Forte Oil, built a controlling position and sold out in 2019. He took 51% of Geregu Power, raised it to 95%, and brought it to the Nigerian Exchange in 2022 before selling.

Competitors have noticed the effect on the stock. First HoldCo overtook Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Zenith by market capitalisation in July, becoming the first Nigerian banking group to pass 6 trillion naira, about $4.4 billion, and the most valuable listed lender in the country. It began the year at 47.9 naira a share.

The bank behind the share price has also improved. First HoldCo reported profit after tax of 526.1 billion naira, about $378 million, for the six months to June, up 81.6% from 289.77 billion a year earlier, helped by lower impairment charges, better asset quality and stronger trading income.

Otedola has not filed a purchase since Aug. 24.