From Oil and Gas to Power: The Many Businesses of Femi Otedola
- Femi Otedola has his hands in many businesses in Nigeria after making a series of acquisitions
- From Oil and Gas to power generation and financing, he is a top player in the Nigerian economy
- He owns a fleet of businesses which includes shipping and the insurance sector
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On April 10 and 11, Femi Otedola, the Nigerian Businessman, acquired about a 5.5% stake in Transcorp, a company with its hands in hospitality and power, among other things.
Otedola later confirmed in a tweet that he made the purchase which analysts say is worth about N6 billion naira.
Source: UGC
Otedola takes a stake in Transcorp
Transcorp filed a notice last week with the Nigerian Exchange Limited, disclosing that Otedola bought 2,245,639,251 units of the shares of the group, amounting to a 5.52% stake.
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Punch reports that in the notice signed by the Transcorp Secretary, Funmi, Olofintuyi, the company said it welcomes Otedola's investment.
Otedola, before he acquired the stake in Transcorp, also owned Geregu Power, which was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange last year.
Zenon Petroleum and Gas
In 2003, Otedola secured the fund to set up Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, a petroleum marketing and distribution company.
The billionaire once boasted that, at a time that he was the sole marketer of diesel in Nigeria.
Otedola invested about $15 billion in the downstream infrastructure and purchased storage depots at Ibafon, Apapa and four cargo vessels with a cumulative storage capacity of 147 000 metric tonnes.
He bought a fleet of 100 DAF fuel tanker trucks for N1.4 billion.
In 2015, Otedola's company, Zenon, had a significant share of the Nigerian diesel market, supplying fuel to most manufacturers in Nigeria, including the Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle, and Guinness.
In 2017, about 10 banks approved a syndicated loan of N193.5 billion as working capital to build the latest petrol facility in Africa for Otedola's Zenon Oil.
Later that year, Zenon acquired a 28.7% stake in Africa Petroleum (AP), a significant fuel marketer in Nigeria.
Zenon also bought shares in major Nigerian banks, including Zenith Bank and UBA, and became a crucial player in the Kerosene market.
In 2007, he was appointed the chairman and chief executive of Africa Petroleum by purchasing a controlling stake in the company. He acquired an additional 29.3% stake in the business for N40 billion.
The entry of Otedola into Africa Petroleum saw the company's share price rise sharply, increasing the company's market cap from N36 billion to N217 billion in six months.
Otedola, via Africa Petroleum, crashed the price of Kerosene to N50 per liter from more than 500 petrol stations across Nigeria.
He appeared in the Forbes list of dollar billionaires, the second Nigerian after Aliko Dangote, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
On December 2010, AP rebranded to Forte Oil as he restructured the business to focus on technology and improved corporate governance.
A large bite of the power sector
In 2013, as part of Nigeria's liberalization of the power sector, the scion of the ex-governor of Lagos State financed 57% of Forte Oil subsidiary Amperion Limited and acquired the 414 MW Geregu Power Plant for $132 million.
The company diversified into the power generation sector, resulting in a 1,321% increase in its share price.
Geregu Power's pre-tax profit doubled in 2014 to N4.19 billion.
The development returned Otedola to Forbes' list of dollar billionaires in Nigeria, having dropped off due to the firm's share price fall.
In 2015, Forte began trading in the global commodities markets after selling 17% of its equity to Swiss commodity trader Mercuria Energy Group.
Forte Oil was later rebranded to Ardova in 2020.
He sold Forte Oil in 2019 and refocused on Power with Geregu Power Generating company.
Finance and insurance
Otedola established CentrForce Limited in 1994, specializing in finance, investments, and trading. He also owns Swift Insurance.
He is also the chief executive and president of SeaForce Shipping Company and was Nigeria's largest ship owner through his diesel distribution firm.
One of his ships, with a storage capacity of 16,000 metric tonnes, was one of its kind in Africa.
He has his hands on real estate through FO Properties.
Otedola was announced in 2021 as the single largest shareholder of Nigeria's oldest bank, First Bank.
Many have referred to him as the Warren Buffet of Nigeria, with his hands in almost all lucrative sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“I Look forward to working with Transcorp”: Otedola Clears Air on Purchase of Shares
Legit.ng reported that billionaire Femi Otedola confirmed purchasing most Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) shares.
The billionaire confirmed the acquisition via a tweet on Monday, April 24, 2022, and said he looks forward to working with the corporation to achieve its potential.
Transcorp filed a notice last week with the Nigerian Exchange Limited, disclosing that Otedola bought 2,245,639,251 units of the shares of the group, amounting to a 5.52% stake.
Source: Legit.ng
