Nigerian Billionaire Otedola deepens control of Nigeria’s biggest banking group, lifting his stake to about 16.1% through direct and indirect market purchases.
Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola has strengthened his grip on First HoldCo Plc after acquiring additional shares valued at about ₦14.8 billion, underscoring his long-term commitment to the country’s largest financial services group by assets.
The latest transaction, disclosed in a regulatory filing to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), shows that Otedola purchased 369.99 million shares of First HoldCo at ₦40.06 per share on December 18, 2025. The notice was signed by Abiola Baruwa, the group company secretary.
According to the filing, the shares were acquired through Calvados Global Services Limited, an investment vehicle associated with Otedola. The purchase further consolidates his position as the single largest shareholder and chairman of the financial holding company, which controls First Bank of Nigeria and other banking and non-banking subsidiaries.
The deal follows a series of steady share purchases by Otedola over recent months. On September 25, 2025, he acquired an additional 64.87 million shares valued at about ₦2.01 billion. That transaction came just days after another round of buying disclosed by the company.
On September 23, 2025, Otedola purchased 39.3 million shares directly, worth approximately ₦1.2 billion, according to First HoldCo. On the same day, he also acquired 25.6 million shares indirectly through Calvados, valued at about ₦793.6 million.
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Those earlier transactions lifted his total ownership in First HoldCo to 16.1 percent, up from 13.15 percent recorded in September 2024. The latest ₦14.8 billion purchase further reinforces his dominant influence over the group, although the company has not yet disclosed an updated percentage holding following the December transaction.
Otedola, one of Africa’s most prominent investors, assumed the chairmanship of the group as part of a broader board and governance overhaul aimed at stabilizing and repositioning the bank after years of regulatory scrutiny and leadership changes. Since then, his growing equity stake has been closely watched by investors as a signal of confidence in the lender’s turnaround strategy.
First HoldCo, formerly FBN Holdings, has been working to strengthen capital buffers, improve asset quality, and streamline its operations across Nigeria and other African markets. Market analysts say sustained insider buying at this scale often reassures shareholders, particularly in an environment of volatile equity prices and tight liquidity.
While neither Otedola nor the company offered additional comment beyond the regulatory disclosure, the latest acquisition highlights the billionaire’s willingness to deploy significant capital to cement long-term control of one of Nigeria’s most systemically important financial institutions.