Otedola acquires additional First Holdco shares with N14.8bn

Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, has deepened his investment in the financial services group with the acquisition of additional shares valued at about N14.8 billion, lifting his ownership to more than 18 per cent.

The transaction was disclosed in a regulatory filing submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and signed by the group company secretary, Abiola Baruwa, yesterday.

The shares purchase triggered a market value adjustment in the local bourse, pushing the shares to a new high. At the close of the trading session on Thursday, First Holdco share price settled at N42.65, though it hit an intraday high of N43.55, its highest in 52 weeks.

In the last seven trading sessions, First Holdco has seen a 35% price uptick due to increased activities. According to a regulatory filing on NGX, the shares were acquired through Calvados Global Services Limited, an investment vehicle linked to the billionaire investor.

Details of the filing show that Otedola purchased 369,986,122 ordinary shares of First HoldCo at N40.06 per share on December 18, bringing the value of the deal to approximately N14.82 billion. The latest purchase further consolidates his position as the single largest shareholder in the holding company.

The acquisition follows a series of stake-building moves by Otedola over the past year. On September 25, 2025, he increased his interest in First HoldCo with the purchase of 64.87 million shares valued at N2.01 billion.

Of this amount, 39.3 million shares were acquired directly on September 23 for about N1.2 billion, while an additional 25.6 million shares worth N793.6 million were bought indirectly through Calvados Global Services Limited on the same day.

Those earlier transactions raised his shareholding to 16.1 per cent, from the 13.15 per cent stake recorded in September 2024. With the latest purchase, Otedola has pushed his ownership beyond the 18 per cent threshold, reinforcing his long-term commitment to the banking and financial services group amid ongoing reforms and consolidation in Nigeria’s financial sector.

At the close of the trading session, the market value of First Holdco Plc’s 41.877 billion outstanding shares increased by 3.05% to N1.786 trillion – boosted by the chairman’s acquisition.