Business giant, Oba Otudeko, may have proved to be the biggest bounce-backs at First Bank.
His Honeywell Group has reportedly bought the largest shares of the bank in a deal worth N87.8 billion.
This would be happening after some controversial development in the bank’s leadership not long ago – and after billionaire Femi Otedola also entered the fold dramatically.
As ‘The Punch’ reports, the shares which Otudeko bought at N19 per unit are the largest volume of First Bank shares traded in a single day since 2012 when the stock exchange started publishing data, according to a report by Arise News.
The trade has ratcheted up allegations over the validity of the trades considering that no single shareholder hitherto officially owned as many shares.
Though a press release explaining the trade is yet to be released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, a disclosure of shareholding sent to the Company Secretary, FBN Holdings Plc and dated July 7, 2023, by Honeywell Group Limited stated that Barbican Capital Limited owned by Otudeko’s children has acquired an aggregate of 4,770,269,843 shares in FBNH.
The firm, on the same day, in a letter signed by Adewale Arogundade, Acting Company Secretary, acknowledged the acquisitions.
Otudeko, who was chairman of First Bank until 2019, is making a swift comeback to become the single largest shareholder of the bank.
With Otudeko now leading the battle for the control of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc with 14 per cent shareholding, Otedola drops to second with nine per cent shareholding. Hassan Odukale and Mike Adenuga are joint third, each with seven percent shareholding. Saheed Arisekole is fourth with a five percent shareholding. the Arise News report says.
