Oba Otudeko’s Honeywell Group is said to have purchased the majority stake in First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc in a cross deal valued at N87.8 billion. The shares purchased by Otudeko at N19 per unit represent the greatest volume of First Bank shares traded in a single day since 2012, when the stock market began releasing data.
The trade has heightened concerns about the trade’s legitimacy, given that no single shareholder has publicly possessed that many shares.
Despite no public press release on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, a Honeywell Group disclosure sent to FBN Holdings’ secretary on July 7, 2023, reveals Barbican Capital Limited, owned by Otudeko’s children, has acquired 4,770,269,843 shares in FBNH.
“This is to inform the public and our stakeholders that the Company received a notification dated July 7, 2023 from Honeywell Group Limited that its affiliate, Barbican Capital Limited has acquired an aggregate of 4,770,269,843 units of shares from the Company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292,791, as at the above-referenced date. Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Barbican Capital Limited in the Company is 13.3%”, it says.
The company recognized the purchases in a letter on the same day Adewale Arogundade, Acting Company Secretary, signed.
Otudeko, who served as First Bank’s chairman from 2013 to 2019, is returning to the business to take over as its single largest stakeholder.
A leadership vacancy resulted in Otudeko’s departure, and billionaire Femi Otedola eventually overcame rival Hassan Odukale to become the bank’s sole shareholder in 2021.
Otedola is now second place with 9% ownership of shares as Otudeko now leads the competition for control of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc. As the Arise News report states, Hassan Odukale and Mike Adenuga tie for third place with 7% of the total shares each, and Saheed Arisekole stands fourth with 5% of the company’s shares.
cc: Punch Ng
