Otedola Increases First HoldCo Holdings to Almost 20% After N43.4 Billion Share Purchase

Olufemi Otedola has increased his stake in First HoldCo Plc to nearly 20 percent following the acquisition of 549.54 million ordinary shares valued at approximately N43.41 billion in a major insider transaction executed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

According to a regulatory filing signed by the Group Company Secretary, Abiola Baruwa, the shares were acquired on May 13, 2026, through Calvados Global Services Limited, a company linked to Otedola.

The transaction was executed at N79.00 per share and involved a total of 549,535,653 units of ordinary shares.

The latest acquisition has increased Otedola’s estimated combined direct and indirect holdings in First HoldCo to about 8.60 billion shares, representing approximately 19.36 percent of the company’s 44.45 billion outstanding shares.

Prior to the latest purchase, First HoldCo’s shareholding structure for the period ended March 31, 2026, showed that Otedola held 3.25 billion shares directly, representing 7.31 percent, while his indirect holdings stood at 4.80 billion shares or 10.81 percent.

Combined, the holdings represented 18.12 percent of the financial institution.

The additional acquisition now pushes the billionaire investor closer to the 20 percent ownership threshold in one of Nigeria’s largest financial holding companies.

The acquisition also dominated trading activities in First HoldCo shares on May 13, 2026. Market data showed the company traded 575.19 million shares during the session, indicating that the insider deal accounted for approximately 95.5 percent of the day’s total trading volume.

First HoldCo shares closed at N71.20 on the day of the transaction, meaning the acquisition was executed at a premium of N7.80 per share above the market closing price.

The premium pricing signals strong insider confidence in the group’s long-term valuation and strategic direction, while also reflecting aggressive strategic positioning by the billionaire investor.

The latest deal further strengthens Otedola’s influence within the institution amid increasing competition among major shareholders in Nigeria’s banking sector.

Shareholding data for the first quarter of 2026 also showed that RC Investment Management Limited held 23.47 percent of the company’s shares, making it the largest disclosed shareholder as of the reporting period.

Meanwhile, First HoldCo’s free float stood at 25.94 billion shares valued at approximately N1.30 trillion at the end of March 2026, representing 58.34 percent of the company’s issued share capital.

The continued accumulation of shares by strategic investors is expected to keep market attention firmly on First HoldCo as investors monitor possible governance, capital and long-term strategic developments within the group.