First Bank Lists Otudeko’s Firm as Majority Investor, Otedola Drops to Second Position

• First Bank has listed a company owned by Oba Otudeko as its majority investor
• The company revealed in its financial statement that Barbican Capital Limited emerged as its majority shareholder in July 2023
• The development meant the recently announced chairman of the banking group, Femi Otedola, is now the second majority investor

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First Bank of Nigeria Holdings has named Oba Otudeko’s Barbican Capital Limited its majority shareholder.

The move ends the uncertainty around the acquisition made in July 2023.

First Bank's financial statement reveals majority investor

According to FBN’s unaudited financial statements for December 31, 2023, released on Thursday, February 1, 2024, the financial institution listed Barbican Capital as its majority shareholder, with billionaire investor Femi Otedola taking the second position.

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The bank had said in a notice on July 2023 that it received a note from Honeywell Group Limited that its affiliate, Barbican Capital, acquired 4,770,269,843 units of shares of 13.3%, marking Otudeko’s return to the company after being sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in April 2021.

Otedola drops to second position

The share acquisition led to Otedola losing his position as the bank’s largest investor, as his stake in the firm was around 5.57%.

TheCable reports that the shares registered for Barbican Capital are now 4.88 billion as of December 2023, representing 13.61%, higher than the 4.77 billion units of shares or 13.3% stake announced in July 2023.

The statement shows that Otedola raised his direct shares to 40.03 million, about 0.11% stake, from 10 million in 2022, while his indirect shares stood at 1.98 million, bringing his total shares in the company to 2.02 billion and 5.65% stake as of the end of 2023.

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According to reports, Tunde Hassan-Odukale is the third majority shareholder with 1.59 billion shares, representing a 4.45% stake.

Hassan-Odukale increased his investment in the banking group from 1.58 billion shares in 2022.

Otedola continues to fight to consolidate stakes

Legit.ng reported that amid the fight to control First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, billionaire businessman and Geregu Power Plant Chairman Femi Otedola has acquired 110 million units of First Bank shares.

The move is said to pitch him against the bank's current majority shareholder, Oba Otudeko, who retook the bank's top shareholding in July in a stormy deal that rattled the industry.

Otedola's newly acquired 110 million units represent 0.3% of the bank's 35,895,292.792 shares.

Source: Legit.ng