By Ken Afor
Foremost investor and business mogul, Oba Otudeko has been listed as a majority shareholder in First Bank Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc.
This was disclosed by FBN Holdings in its unaudited consolidated financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2023, released on Thursday.
According to the statement, Barbican Capital Limited, believed to be owned by Oba Otudeko, reportedly acquired 4,770,269,843 units of shares, representing a 13.3 percent stake in the company on July 7, 2023.
Given this development, Oba Otudeko’s acquisition resulted in the displacement of another prominent investor, Mr. Femi Otedola, who previously held a majority shareholder position with a 5.57 percent stake in the company.
It would be recalled that in April 2021, Otudeko, the former chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, was removed as Chairman of the FBN by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Despite FBN Holdings acknowledging Otudeko’s acquisition of Barbican Capital shares in its third-quarter financial statements last year, Otedola remained the majority investor. Otudeko’s name and company were absent from the list of shareholders with a 5 percent or above stake.
According to reports monitored by TheNewDiplomat, Otudeko’s exclusion as the majority shareholder in FBN Holdings’ third-quarter financial statement was attributed to alleged reports that the Lagos based business titan is indebted to Ecobank N13.5 billion in debt.
In a letter dated, July 7, 2023, Ecobank allegedly insisted that Otudeko was “diverting his assets and that of the Honeywell Group of companies through the said Barbican Capital Limited, in order to frustrate the enforcement of the judgment of the supreme court against him”.
However, Otudeko countered the reports or accusation, asserting that the apex court did not issue any judgment against him.
Barbican Capital’s holdings and stake in FBN Holdings were said to have increased to 4.88 billion shares by the end of 2023, thus maintaining a 13.61 percent stake. This figure overwhelmed the 4.77 billion shares or 13.3 percent stake reported in July of the same year.
However, regarding FBN Holdings’ unaudited consolidated financial statements, Femi Otedola’s direct shares were said to have risen to 40.03 million, which equates to approximately 0.11 percent stake, up from 10 million (0.03 percent) in 2022.
Additionally, his indirect stake by share holdings is said to be approximately 1.98 billion, which ranks at a 5.54 percent stake. On the whole, Otedola’s cumulative shares is believed to be about 2.02 billion, with a stake of 5.65 percent by the end of last year.
On his part, Tunde Hassan-Odukale holds the third-largest stake at FBN Holdings, having about 1.59 billion shares, which accounts for about 4.45 percent stake holding.
Interestingly, the insurance guru increased his share, holding portfolio by 1.58 billion shares, standing at about 4.42 percent stake, in year 2022.
