Femi Otedola, First HoldCo’s chairman, purchased 1.77 billion shares of the financial institution through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited.
According to a corporate filing from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Otedola acquired the First HoldCo shares for N222.20 billion on Thursday.
The transaction, announced in a filing with the Nigerian Exchange, boosts his holdings from 10,177,494,288 to 11,956,589,264 shares.
At the acquisition price, the enlarged investment values his stake at ₦1.4934 trillion—roughly $1.07 billion at an exchange rate of ₦1,390 to the dollar. This pushes his holdings in a single company past the billion-dollar threshold for the first time.
The purchase follows First HoldCo’s move earlier this month to overtake Zenith Bank as Nigeria’s most valuable lender.
The transaction carries far-reaching consequences. Nigerian takeover guidelines mandate that any shareholder acquiring over 30% of a listed company must make a mandatory tender offer for the remaining shares.
Given First HoldCo’s total share volume of approximately 45.5 billion shares, that mandatory threshold sits at roughly 13.65 billion shares.
Otedola now holds nearly 11.96 billion shares. The remaining gap of approximately 1.69 billion shares is smaller than his most recent block purchase. A single additional transaction of that scale would trigger a mandatory buyout offer for First Bank’s entire parent company.
He has given no indication of such plans, repeatedly framing his purchases as a long-term investment rather than a strategy to gain complete control.
Backstory…
The race for larger stakes has attracted widespread attention in Nigeria’s financial sector, with investors closely monitoring changes that could shape the group’s future leadership and strategic direction.
First HoldCo, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria, has undergone significant corporate and governance reforms in recent years following regulatory interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The institution has since focused on rebuilding investor confidence, strengthening its capital base and improving corporate governance. Otedola’s latest First HoldCo shares acquisition is expected to further consolidate his influence within the banking group and could have major implications for future board decisions and the company’s long-term direction.
