Report reaching Goldmyne.tv indicates that billionaire Femi Otedola has acquired the majority shares in FBN Holdings Plc — a financial holding company and owners of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, a tier-one bank and its largest subsidiary.
Otedola reportedly took over the bank with the acquisition of about ₦30 billion worth of shares, making him the single largest shareholder of the bank.
Otedola, being the largest shareholder, holds the highest voting shares, giving him power to dictate the direction of the bank through his voting power.
According to sources who spoke to this news platform on the subject matter, FBN holdings will soon make a public announcement on the historic purchase of the company shares by Otedola on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
It was gathered that Otedola has been acquiring the shares of the bank through a vehicle, Calvados Global Services Ltd.
It is also likely that there could be other vehicles associated with Otedola who may have also been mopping up shares.
FBN Holdings currently has 34.7 billion of its shares floating freely meaning it is held by diverse shareholders. This makes the shares easy to acquire on the stock exchange.
The latest audited account of FBN Holdings does not have any shareholder with up to 5% of the ownership of the banking behemoth.
Nairametrics understands that Otedola, through proxies and investing vehicles, now owns over 5% of the bank, setting himself up to be the single largest shareholder of the bank.
It was gathered that Otedola decided to take over First Bank Nigeria because of the internal crisis rocking the bank.
The crisis, a tussle for control of the bank, was between the then major shareholders, one block led by Oba Otudeko, who was the chairman of FBN Holdings’ board, and Mr Adenuga who later emerged as one of the biggest shareholders in the bank.
Recall that Otudeko and Ibukun Awosika, his ally on the board of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, were removed from their positions as chairmen of FBN Holdings and First Bank respectively.
Mr Adeduntan, who represented the interest of a late Ibadan mogul and prominent shareholder, Arisekola Alao, was reinstated as the bank’s chief executive, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
