Otedola Acquires Additional N222.21bn Worth of First Holdco Shares, Stake Rises to 26%

Billionaire investor, Mr. Olufemi Otedola, has acquired additional N222.21 billion worth of First Holdco Plc shares on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). According to a disclosure on the Exchange yesterday, the chairman of First Holdco acquired further 1,779,094,976 shares of the group at N124.90 per share. The transaction on the NGX takes Otedola‘s position to 11,763,018,192 shares from 9,277,792,037 as of June 30 2026 unaudited results, making him the largest shareholder of the oldest financial institution in Nigeria. The purchase also carries a consequence beyond its size. Nigerian takeover rules oblige a shareholder crossing 30 per cent of a listed company to make a mandatory offer for the remainder. On a register of roughly 45,475,027,677 shares, and his threshold near 12 billion, Otedola’s stake in the group currently stands at 26 per cent. The gap is around 2,485,226,155 shares, less than the block he had just bought in July 2026 alone. A further purchase on the same scale would compel him to bid for the whole of First Bank of Nigeria Limited’s parent. He has given no indication that he intends to do so, and has consistently described his buying as a long-term investment rather than a route to outright control. The accumulation has run for years and accelerated sharply in 2026. He held 6.68 billion shares, or 15.95 per cent, at the end of June 2025, when the company had 41.88 billion shares in issue. By March 31 this year, he had reached 8.06 billion against an enlarged capital of 44.45 billion. Three months later he stood at 9.28 billion shares, having added roughly 1.22 billion shares in a single quarter, almost entirely through indirect holdings. A purchase through his vehicle Calvados Global Services this month took him past 10 billion units of shares for the first time. Otedola has said repeatedly that the money committed is his own rather than borrowed. The group’s shares closed at N119.95 per share as of July 30, 2026 against N47.90 per share at the end of 2025, a gain of 150.4 per cent in its Year-till-Date (YtD) performance. Market capitalisation has risen further to N5.45 trillion, the difference reflecting shares issued during the recapitalisation rather than value created for existing shareholders. The N5.45 trillion as of July 30, 2026 makes First Holdco the most capitalised banking stock on the NGX, followed by Zenith Bank, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc that closed at N4.9 trillion and N trillion, N4.71 trillion , respectively The purchase price of N124.9 sits below 3.96 per cent when compared to N119.25 per share the stock market closed for trading as of July 30, 2026, indicating a negotiated block rather than open-market buying. Marked at that closing price, the holding would be worth N1.43 trillion. First HoldCo is the holding company for First Bank of Nigeria Limited, founded in 1894, the oldest financial institution in the country. Otedola became chairman after a protracted contest for influence over the register. Otedola’s rising stake over the years is occurring at a time when First Holdco is attracting renewed investor interest, supported by stronger earnings declared on the floor of the Exchange. The group reported a record profit before tax of N653.54 billion for half year (H1) ended June 30, 2026, up 83.50 per cent YoY from N356.15 billion reported in half year (H1) ended June 30, 2025, while profit after tax rose 81.57 per cent to N526.13 billion. In the second quarter (Q2) 2026 alone, profit before tax nearly doubled to N332.42 billion, from N169.67 billion in Q2 2025. The group’s total assets, however, closed June 30 2026 at N30.0 trillion, up 12.5 per cent from N26.7 trillion reported in 2025. The growth in total assets was driven by N9.5 trillion customers’ loans & advances (net), about 6.2 per cent increase from N9 trillion in 2025, and N22 trillion customers’ deposits, up 16.2 per cent from N18.9 trillion declared in 2025.