Another ₦18.1 billion. Another 138.04 million shares. Another step deeper into First HoldCo. But is @femiotedola building a stake, or building control?
There is something almost hypnotic about watching a determined investor keep putting his money where his conviction(mouth) is.
One purchase attracts attention. Two become a pattern. But when the cheques run into hundreds of billions of naira, the pattern itself becomes the story.
Femi Otedola is still buying First HoldCo.
And this latest acquisition has just added another ₦18.1 billion to an investment that has already crossed an extraordinary ₦600 billion of his personal funds.
The latest transaction saw the gentleman of leisure acquire 138.04 million shares at ₦131.20 per share, representing approximately $12 million in dollars.
With that purchase, his stake in First HoldCo, the parent company of FirstBank, has risen from 25.88% to 26.1%, while his total shareholding now stands at approximately 11.90 billion shares.
₦18.1 billion more. That is the headline. But perhaps it is not the real story.
Because this latest purchase comes on the heels of his spectacular acquisition of approximately 1.78 billion shares for ₦222.2 billion, which is about $160 million dollars.
Placed side by side, the figures begin to tell a rather extraordinary tale. ₦222.2 billion. Then another ₦18.1 billion.
And behind it all, a man who says he has already committed more than ₦600 billion of his own money to First HoldCo. At some point, you stop asking how much a man has bought. You begin asking what he is building.
And that is where Femi Otedola’s recent interview with Nairametrics becomes particularly revealing.
₦600 BILLION IS NOT JUST CAPITAL. IT IS CONVICTION.
Otedola has finally spoken about the investment that has had the market watching his every move.
His explanation is not complicated.
He believes in First HoldCo. He believes in its future.He believes the institution’s underlying value is considerably greater than what the market has, perhaps, fully recognised.
And he is prepared to put an extraordinary amount of his own money behind that belief.
More than ₦600 billion of personal funds. That figure alone deserves to be contemplated.
But Otedola’s reasoning goes beyond simply buying into a venerable financial institution because of its size or history.
He points to the extensive clean-up of the bank’s balance sheet, the successful recapitalisation & sweeping corporate-governance reforms as evidence of an institution being repositioned for a stronger future.
And then there is the Otedola playbook. It is perhaps the most intriguing part of the entire story.
Because if you have watched his investment history closely, you will know that he has never appeared particularly interested in being merely a passenger on the journey. He likes control. Acquire a significant stake. Push towards control. Reform. Reposition.
Build value. And leave behind something stronger.
At AP, which later became Forte Oil, he increased his stake from 28% to 75%.
At Geregu Power, he moved from 51% to an extraordinary 95%, before subsequently reducing his holding to 77% & eventually selling down.
His preferred threshold has never been particularly difficult to decipher: 51% & above.
So now, with Otedola sitting at 26.1% of First HoldCo, the obvious question is beginning to whisper louder. Is 26.1% merely a staging post? Could the destination be 51%? Or perhaps even more? Maybe 60%. Maybe 70%.
We cannot know the final destination until the shares are actually acquired. Anything beyond what has been disclosed remains conjecture.
But the man’s history makes the question perfectly legitimate. And then comes another crucial distinction.
Otedola has indicated that this is not a quick-money play. First HoldCo is for the long haul. No immediate divestment. No apparent rush for the exit.
Instead, there is a stated belief in the franchise, its underlying value & what it can become.
That changes the complexion of the investment completely.
Because this is no longer merely a story about one of Nigeria’s wealthiest investors accumulating shares in one of the country’s most historic financial institutions. It is potentially a story about ownership, transformation & legacy.
Otedola’s vision, from what he has said, goes beyond profitability.
He wants an institution marked by strong corporate governance, operational excellence, institutional stability & sustainable value creation.
And perhaps that is why the numbers are becoming so fascinating.
11.90 billion shares.
26.1%.
₦600 billion-plus personally invested.
₦222.2 billion in one recent blockbuster acquisition. And now another ₦18.1 billion.
These are no longer random numbers floating independently in the market. They are chapters of the same story. A story that may eventually lead to one very consequential number: 51%.
Whether Otedola ultimately gets there, goes beyond it, or decides that 26.1% represents the position he wants, only time, & future filings, will tell.
But there is something we can say with certainty. He is not behaving like a man who has finished buying.
And that may be the most interesting part of this entire saga.
Because when a man puts over ₦600 billion of his personal wealth behind an institution, keeps returning to the market for more shares & has a well-established history of pursuing controlling positions, the question naturally evolves.
It is no longer: “How much has Otedola bought?” It becomes:
“How much of First HoldCo does Otedola ultimately want?”
And that, ladies & gentlemen, may be the number everyone will be watching next.
Abiola Olatunde Aloba
#FirstHoldCo #FemiOtedola #FirstBank #Investment #Banking #maestrosmediablog #maestrolifestyl #Conviction
