- Battle for Control of FBN Holdings Rages
By Abiola Olawale
The Chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings, Femi Otedola has again reportedly jerked up his stake in the company, acquiring a whopping 534,094,407 shares.
Otedola, a business magnate and billionaire, was said to have further increased his stake in the company to 13.15 per cent.
This was confirmed in a statement jointly signed by the Acting Secretary, FBNH, Adewale Arogundare and the Nigerian Exchange, NGX.
In the statement, it was disclosed that Otedola increased his stake after purchasing 534,094,407 shares at N30.00 per share between September 23 and 25, 2024.
The latest acquisition shoots his interest in FBN Holdings from 11.67 per cent (4,187,602,704 shares) to 13.15 per cent (4,721,697,111 shares), worth N136.9 billion.
This comes amid a legal tussle in the FBN Holdings. The tussle stemmed from a dispute between the bank and its former Chairman who is billionaire business mogul and one of Nigeria’s most legendary investor, Oba Otudeko, over the true state of his shareholding vis-a- vis Otedola’s stake.
Otudeko had initiated a legal action against FBN Holdings, seeking a court order to compel the financial institution to recognise his investment vehicle, Barbican Capital, as the largest shareholder in the bank. If he succeeds, this would effectively block Otedola from reigning in as the largest single shareholder in FIrst Bank Holdings.
Otudeko, in the lawsuit (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24), claimed Barbican Capital owns a 15.01 per cent stake amounting to 5.38 billion units.
However, the bank insists that Otedola, who holds a 9.41 per cent share, is the largest shareholder.
First Bank argued that Barbican and Otudeko could not provide evidence of the purchase of some of the shares it claims to own.
According to court papers, First Bank further argued that Barbican is concealing the fact of an ongoing verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria of its alleged significant shareholdings.
It noted that only 3.11 billion shares (representing 8.67 per cent) of Barbican Capital’s total shares could be verified by the CBN, while its alleged 2.34 billion shares (representing 6.52 per cent) could not be verified.
FBN Holdings and the CBN, both respondents to the lawsuit, have asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to dismiss the suit filed by Barbican Capital over “the alleged alteration of its alleged 5,386,397,202 units of shares in the bank”.
In the meantime, the battle for the soul of First Bank, Nigeria’s oldest financial institution rages in and out of the court rooms.
