First Bank Holdings Confirms Femi Otedola As Majority Shareholder With 5% Equity Stake

First Bank Holdings, owners of First Bank Nigeria, has confirmed Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola as the majority shareholder of the company with a 5% equity stake

The bank had earlier denied Otedola’s acquisition of significant shareholding, saying that it has not been notified.

It said in a notice by the firm to the NGX exchange: “As a listed company, the shares of FBN Holding Plc are publicly traded, and sale and acquisition of shares is expected in the normal course of business. We operate in a regulated environment, which requires notification of significant shareholding by Shareholders to the company, where shares are held in different vehicles, further to which the company will notify the regulators and the public as appropriate.”

However, in a follow-up communication to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the First Bank confirmed: “that Mr. Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee, Calvados Global Services Limited have acquired a total of 1,818, 551,625 units of shares from the Company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292791.”

“Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee in the company is now 5.07%,” the notice signed by the Company Secretary, Seyi Kosoko stated.

Due to his over five percent stake in FBN Holdings, Otedola’s shareholding surpasses that of Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan Odukale, both of whom are the firm’s biggest owners with 1.5 percent and 1.03 percent holdings respectively.