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Otedola Increases Stake in First Bank, Now Holds, 7.57 Percent in FBN Holdings

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Femi Otedola

The corporate industry is not immune to power tussle, as wealthy and influential people in different economic sectors go head to head with shares and stakes. Femi Otedola, the billionaire investor and the Chairman of Geregu Power Plant, has once again increased his stake in FBN Holdings (the parent company of First Bank) to 7.57 percent. This makes him the single largest majority holder in the bank, according to public disclosure of ownership.

Femi Otedola and Tunde Hassan-Odukale, the Chairman of First Bank and the Managing Director of Leadway Assurance Company Limited, have been in a sort of tussle concerning First Bank shares for quite some time.  Femi Otedola acquired 1.81 billion shares earlier in the year through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited. However, the share acquisition was surprising as neither Otedola nor First Bank informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) during the acquisition process.

The possibility of Otedola taking over did not sit right with Tunde Hassan-Odukale and his supporters, as a letter later appeared online that Odukale was the largest shareholder in First Bank Holdings, but this claim was not supported by the financial statements released from 2020 to 2021.

The letter was quickly recognised as an attempt to push back Otedola, who was all out to own a sizeable chunk of the leading financial institution.

After reports that Otedola was set to take over and the letter claiming that Odukale has more than 5%, First Bank released its own report denying any such shareholder but later acknowledged that Otedola has revealed the number of his shares.

Later on, First Bank confirmed that both Otedola and Odukale were in possession of more than 5% controlling stake.

To be precise, Femi Otedola’s stake in FBN Holdings was 5.07 percent at the time. However, news started going around that Seye Kosoko, the company secretary had attributed Leadway Pensure PFA’s entire 2.11% stake in the bank to Tunde Hassan-Odukale in a letter forwarded to the Nigerian Exchange limited (NGX).

That would have taken Tunde Hassan-Odukale’s total shares to 5.36%, which would have made him the single largest shareholder in the company as it would have totaled higher than Femi Otedola’s stake which was at 5.07% at the time.

However, the National Pension Commission (Pencom) confirmed that any funds invested in First Bank Holdings by Leadway Pensure Ltd belong to the holders of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA). This confirmation silenced any claims that Odukale owned a stake of up to 5.36%.

First Bank also went ahead to explain that it did not list Tunde Hassan-Odukale as a 5% holder, but divided and recorded his shares as 4.16% (direct, personal shares) and 1.2% for Leadway shares.

Naturally, holding a stake of more than 5% in a company like First Bank is likely to give one a sense of power and control given the numerous investors in the leading bank.

Otedola has been an active participator in the Bank’s dealings. In October, he placed on record that he had invested the amount of $30 million in the bank’s long-term debt instrument, which was classified as Tier II capital and which makes a vital portion of the bank’s capital base.

Otedola said he made the investment due to his faith in the Nigerian economy which he termed as resilient and with a bright future. He urged people to look into the future, stating that the security challenges plaguing the country will be resolved and the country will once again receive its glory status.

The power tussle is ongoing as both sides have made moves and responded to the moves of the ‘opposition’.

A report made on December 11 revealed that about 1.1 billion units of First Bank of Nigeria Holding shares had been exchanged in only four days. This suggests that the battle for control of the bank is still ongoing, with no end in sight. The data was gathered from the daily trade volumes that were recorded by the company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s trading engine.

The data shows that 128.8 million units were traded on Monday, with 364 million units coming on Tuesday. Wednesday saw the trade of 441.9 million units and Thursday witnessed 228.5 million shares traded.

The power tussle however took another turn on December 9, 2021. Femi Otedola announced in a letter addressed to the bank that he had acquired additional shares in the company which now gives him an ownership of 7.57% in the bank.

According to market operators, Otedola has the right to purchase additional shares from the secondary market if they are available in order to increase his holdings in the bank. However, a Spokesperson for the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) stated that the NGX was not aware of the acquisition and was therefore unable to comment.

In the letter, it was seen that Otedola acquired these shares through his proxies Calvados Global Services, Primose Global Concept, Shetland Global, Wells Properties and Impetus Synergy. The letter read, “I have recently acquired additional shares in FBN Holdings Plc (the Company) which has brought my total stake to 7.57% of the issued shares capital of the company.”

After this acquisition, it has been revealed that Femi Otedola has now spent a huge amount of N44.8 billion on investment in FBN Holdings Ltd. Since he has announced the acquisition of 2.7 billion shares, the average price at which he has acquired the FBN Holding shares is N16.48 per share. In comparison, the share price closed at N11.6 per share yesterday.

This new purchase has formally solidified his status as the biggest shareholder of FBN Holdings, very well ahead of his biggest rival in the company, Tunde Hassan-Odukale who is the Chairman of First Bank. Tunde Hassan-Odukale and Femi Otedola have been going at each other since October, when the news of Otedola’s share acquisitions became public knowledge late in the month.

It would be interesting to see how Tunde Hassan-Odukale responds to Otedola’s new acquisition. Following the trajectory of the power tussle, it would be unsurprising to see Hassan-Odukale either announce some new shares or begin the process of acquiring additional shares. However, at the moment Femi Otedola remains the man witrh the title of biggest shareholder.

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Billionaire Watch

Top 7 Richest People in The World Earned $16 Billion in the Last 24 Hours

Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world, along with six others, collectively earned $16.054 billion within the past 24 hours as global stocks rebounded following an agreement reached by United States lawmakers to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling for the next two years.

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Elon Musk

On Friday, Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world, along with six others, collectively earned $16.054 billion within the past 24 hours as global stocks rebounded following an agreement reached by United States lawmakers to suspend the nation’s debt ceiling for the next two years.

Elon Musk led the pack, earning $4.61 billion, bringing his year-to-date increase to $62.5 billion and raising his net worth to $199 billion.

Bernard Arnault, the second richest person, saw his net worth rise by $3.99 billion to $29 billion, while Jeff Bezos, the well-known owner of Amazon, added $1.64 billion, resulting in a year-to-date change of $40.9 billion and a net worth of $148 billion. Bill Gates followed with an increase of $1.94 billion, placing him as the fourth richest individual with $128 billion.

Larry Ellison’s net worth surged by $419 million. Steve Ballmer and Warren Buffet gained $925 million and $2.53 billion, respectively.

Earlier this week, Elon Musk reclaimed his title as the richest person in the world, surpassing Bernard Arnault.

Musk had temporarily lost the top spot in December due to a drop in Tesla’s stock value following his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. A significant portion of Musk’s wealth is tied to Tesla’s stock, and he also serves as the CEO of SpaceX and owns Twitter.

Following a notable two-day visit to Shanghai, where he met with Chinese officials amidst ongoing U.S.-China tensions, analysts noted the importance of the Chinese market for Tesla.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang assured Musk of China’s openness to foreign businesses, prompting Musk to express interest in further expanding in China. This bolstered Tesla stock by 3.11 percent or $6.45 to $213.97 on Friday.

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Elon Musk Reclaims Position as The Richest Man in The World

Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the richest man in the world.

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Elon Musk

Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the richest man in the world.

Musk’s net worth increased by 40.3% this year, which has seen him currently worth $192 billion after shares of his electric automaker Tesla rose about 24% in May. Also on Wednesday, 31, 2023, shares of Tesla traded at $203.93.

The Tesla billionaire who reportedly earned over $1 billion in the last 24 hours, dethroned the CEO of LVMH Bernard Arnault who is worth $187 billion, from the first position, after occupying the second spot for over six months.

A decline in the net worth of Arnault can be attributed to the loss of $11.2 billion, which he reportedly lost in one day. The stock blow is said to be the biggest the company has seen in over a year. According to Bloomberg, the stock’s fall caused the European Luxury sector to be slashed by roughly $30 billion. 

Recall that Arnault surpassed Musk in December last year, after his wealth increased due to a boom in luxury goods sales that helped drive up LVMH’s, stock price. LVMH, one of the world’s biggest conglomerates, is home to brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Celine.

Musk on the other hand, has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the world’s rich lists in recent years as the majority of his fortunes are directly linked to Tesla, his electric automaker company, which he owns about 13%.

Investors King understands that both Musk and Arnault have continued to be in head-to-head competition for some time now, as both billionaires have on several occasions displaced each other on the top global billionaire ranking.

Notably, Musk doesn’t seem to slow down in breaking new ground, after he made his first trip to the world’s second-largest economy, China, on Wednesday, in over three years.

Musk met with China’s industry minister Jin Zhuanglong and discussed the development of electric vehicles. In a statement on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry said that Musk was willing to expand the car maker’s business in the country, which is Tesla’s biggest market after the US.

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Bloomberg Finally Lists Abdulsamad Rabiu on Billionaire Index, Ranked 287th Richest Man

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BUA Cement Chairman - Investors King

One of Nigeria’s richest entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists, Abdulsamad Rabiu, has made it to Bloomberg Billionaire Index for the first time.

The global leading business platform ranked Rabiu as the 287th richest man alive and the second richest Nigerian after Alhaji Aliko Dangote with a $7.63 billion net worth.

In the last 24 hours, Rabiu lost $40 million to stock swing but has gained $1.16 billion in net worth year to date, according to the data available on Bloomberg.

Rabiu, 62, is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a leading conglomerate based in Lagos, Nigeria. The group owns Bua Cement, Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer after Dangote Cement and had revenue of $847 million or N361 billion in the 2022 financial year.

Bua Group is also the proud owner of the largest pasta and flour plant, BUA Foods, listed on Nigeria’s exchange in 2022.

The majority of Rabiu’s fortune is derived from his stake in BUA Cement, the second-largest cement producer in Nigeria, according to the company website. He owns about 98% of the company directly and through three other companies, according to its 2023 first-quarter report and the 2022 annual report.

He also controls a 93% stake in BUA Foods, which owns the largest pasta and flour plant in Nigeria, according to the company’s 2023 first-quarter report and the 2022 annual report.

Other businesses within the BUA Group are not included in the valuation because requisite details are not known.

A liability is included based on an analysis of costs for acquisitions, insider transactions, taxes, market performance and charitable contributions.

Rabiu was born in 1960 in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria. His late father, Isyaku Rabiu, founded Isyaku Rabiu & Sons which spanned manufacturing, finance and real estate.

After studying Economics in Capital University in Ohio, he returned to Nigeria at the age of 24 and oversaw the family business.

Rabiu founded BUA Group in 1988, importing food, iron and steel. The company became a manufacturer of cement and sugar through series of mergers, including the acquisition of Cement Company of Nothern Nigeria (CCNN) in 2009.

BUA Cement began trading publicly in Nigeria in January 2020. BUA Foods went public two years later in January 2022.

 

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