The chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, has acquired 680 million shares in the financial institution, increasing his controlling stake to 20.42 percent.
Otedola purchased the shares for N29.6 billion through a private placement after First HoldCo offered shares at N44 each, below Thursday’s closing market price of N61, to private investors.
According to a source, Otedola and another institutional shareholder acquired 90 percent of the N45 billion worth of shares offered through the private placement.
“The private placement has been completed and Mr. Otedola acquired about 680.8 million shares investing about N30 billion in the bank (Holdco). Another institutional investor who is a shareholder acquired most of the rest,” the source said.
Following the transaction, First HoldCo’s share capital has risen to N525.6 billion, surpassing the N500 billion minimum regulatory capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The development comes as the company advances its ongoing N350 billion private placement programme, which it plans to channel into First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its subsidiary, as part of efforts to restore capital and strengthen its balance sheet.
Otedola has continued to expand his stake in the company, having previously acquired 549.53 million shares worth N43.41 billion in May through Calvados Global Services Limited, his investment vehicle.
The latest purchase brings his total shareholding to about 9.29 billion shares.
First HoldCo’s private placement programme is part of broader plans to build a N1 trillion capital base.
At the company’s 14th annual general meeting in May, shareholders approved plans to raise up to N253.09 billion through public offers, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends, and other equity instruments across local and international markets.