Otedola Continues to Fights to Consolidate Stakes in First Bank With Additional N2 Billion Shares Acquisition
- Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has consolidated his stakes in FBN Holdings Plc with an additional shares purchase
- Otedola reportedly acquired about 110 million units of FBN Holdings valued at N2 billion
- The share acquisition puts his total stake at 7.57% as shareholders protest a purported court order stopping the Company's AGM from holding
Amid the fight for the control of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, billionaire businessman and Geregu Power Plant Chairman, Femi Otedola, has acquired an additional 110 million units of First Bank shares.
The move is said to pitch him against the current majority shareholder of the bank, Oba Otudeko, who retook the bank's top shareholding in July in a stormy deal that rattled the industry.
Source: UGC
Otedola's new share acquisition makes him a top contender for FBH ownership
Otedola's newly acquired 110 million units represent 0.3% of the bank's 35,895,292.792 shares.
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The development comes as Otedola sold about 834 million shares of the bank valued at about N9.28 billion, a deal that made him the bank's largest shareholder as of June 2023.
The deal follows a prolonged boardroom battle over the ownership of Nigeria's oldest bank, compelling the Nigerian Exchange to intervene and clarify the ownership tussle.
According to reports, the bank's audited accounts during the period placed Otedola's shareholding at 7.57%.
Oba Otudeko's 13.3% shareholding places atop the company's board
Legit.ng had reported in July that Honeywell Group Chairman, Oba Otudeko, consolidated his stakes as the largest shareholder with the acquisition of 4,770,269,843 units of shares via a Special Purpose Vehicle, Barbican Capital affiliated with the Honeywell Group.
Otudeko's new acquisition represents 13.3% of its 35,895,292,791 outstanding shares of FBN Holdings.
However, there has been controversy over the bank's Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 15, 2023, with the bank saying that it still needs to receive a court order stopping it from holding an AGM scheduled for August 15, 2023.
Bank staff protests court order against AGM
In an official statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange, the bank stated that the reports on a section of the media receiving a court not to hold its AGM was untrue.
Part of the statement read:
"The attention of FBN Holdings Plc (the Company) has been drawn to recent media reports purporting that the Company has received a Court Order stopping it from holding the Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 15, 2023.
"We confirm that this assertion is a false narrative as the Company has not been served with any court order to stop the forthcoming AGM as of the date hereof.
Media reports said that some majority stakeholders of the Company protested against the purported court order at its Lagos Headquarters on August 7, 2023.
“He needs to check Otudeko”: Shareholders to vote to keep Otedola on First Bank board
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that First Bank Holding Plc, the parent company of First Bank, has announced the appointment of billionaire investor and Chairman of Geregu Power, Femi Otedola, as non-Executive Director, subject to the approval of the shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 15, 2023.
Otedola was listed as a shareholder with a substantial 5.7% stake in the banking group, translating to 10,000,000 units of direct shares and 1,989,342,376 units held indirectly under Calvados Global Limited as of June 30, 2023.
At the impending AGM, shareholders will also have the opportunity to consider the Director’s fees for the financial year ending December 31, 2023, and succeeding years.
Source: Legit.ng
