The chairman of FBN Holdings, Femi Otedola, has acquired 799.174 million shares of the Holding Company in two trading sessions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
Otedola’s latest acquisition takes his combined stake to 11.64 per cent, making him the only shareholder of the Holding company with a total shareholding of over 10 per cent.
In a notice filed on the NGX about directors dealing on June 24 and June 25, 2024, the billionaire businessman bought a total of 797.946 million at N21.58, valued at N17.220 billion. Also, he purchased a total of 1.228 million shares at N20.30 worth N24.928 million.
According to the recently released audited result of the bank, Otedola held 40.034 million (0.11 per cent) directly and 1.989 billion units (5.54 per cent) as of December 2023.
With his latest acquisition, he has effectively become the largest shareholder of the banking group, one of the oldest in Nigeria and a strategically important bank.
FBN Holdings in January appointed Otedola as the chairman of its board of directors.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2024, FBN Holdings grew its gross earnings by 181.43 per cent to N1.60 trillion. FBN Holdings also improved its financial ratios, with interest income contributing 60 per cent of total earnings, while non-interest income grew by 153.67 per cent to N601.70 billion. Profit before tax of the Group increased by 25.15 per cent to N350.59 billion in Q1 2024.
The company disclosed plans to raise N300 billion in fresh capital to meet new regulatory requirements.
