How Otedola moved First HoldCo to Nigeria’s most valuable bank

Femi Otedola, the billionaire chairman of First HoldCo Plc, has cemented his grip on Nigeria’s oldest financial institution. In a major market move, Otedola increased his ownership stake to 25.87 percent, after acquiring an additional 1.779 billion ordinary shares valued at N222.2 billion, marking his second acquisition in eight days.

…closing share price rises N119.95, lifting his holding to N1.47 trillion

…NPL falls by 37.4% as H1 profit rebounds

The purchase, disclosed in a regulatory filing to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday, was executed at N124.90 per share through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited. It takes his total beneficial ownership to 11.76 billion shares, up from 21.96 percent previously.

Taken together with the 706.13 million shares worth N77.59 billion he bought on July 22, Otedola has committed nearly N300 billion in fresh capital to First HoldCo within a week. At the latest transaction price, his total holding is now worth an estimated N1.47 trillion, or roughly $1 billion, becoming one of the largest single-shareholder equity positions in Nigeria’s financial services industry on the nation’s bourse.

The share accumulation places Otedola within reach of Nigeria’s mandatory takeover threshold. Under the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) of 2025 and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations on corporate acquisitions, any investor who crosses the 30 percent voting threshold must launch a mandatory takeover offer (MTO) to minority shareholders, unless explicitly granted a regulatory exemption. While his 25.87 percent stake keeps him just below that trigger, market watchers are heavily scrutinizing the bank’s fundamentals and its shifting ownership structure to anticipate his ultimate endgame.

Otedola’s march toward dominance has been highly methodical. A year ago, in June 2025, he held 6.68 billion shares, comprising 3.21 billion direct and 3.47 billion indirect shares, equivalent to 15.95 percent of the company. By March 31, 2026, this had risen to 8.06 billion shares, or 18.12 percent. A filing for June 30, 2026, put his combined holding at 9.28 billion shares, or 20.40 percent, after his indirect holdings rose to 6.03 billion shares from 4.80 billion three months earlier, while his direct holding stayed near 3.25 billion shares. Over that one year, he added roughly 2.6 billion shares, lifting his stake by 4.45 percentage points even as First HoldCo’s issued share capital expanded from 41.88 billion to 45.48 billion shares.

His participation in the bank’s N45 billion private placement, the second phase of a N350 billion recapitalisation programme, added about 672.9 million shares at N44.06 apiece. That purchase lifted his stake to 20.42 percent and preceded the sharper rally that followed.

The private placement raised First HoldCo’s paid-up share capital to about N525.6 billion, above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s minimum requirement for international commercial banks. The bank still plans to raise about N221 billion more under the programme, targeting N1 trillion in paid-up share capital to support loan growth and capital adequacy.

First HoldCo’s stock has risen 145.90 percent year-to-date, moving from N105.50 in early July to N119.95 as of the close of trading on Thursday. The rally has pushed First HoldCo’s market capitalisation past N5.5 trillion, overtaking Zenith Bank, which closed at about N4.9 trillion, and GTCO, at N4.71 trillion, to make First HoldCo Nigeria’s most valuable banking stock. It was also the first Nigerian banking stock to cross the N5 trillion intraday mark.

The rally has lifted Otedola’s estimated net worth above $2 billion, with First HoldCo now his largest listed holding.

The re-rating extends beyond First HoldCo. Most listed Nigerian banks have historically traded below book value despite strong profitability, weighed down by foreign exchange volatility, macroeconomic uncertainty, and governance concerns.

That discount has started to narrow as banks report stronger earnings following exchange rate liberalisation, higher interest income, and improved capital positions. First HoldCo now trades at about 1.7x book value, with an annualised return on average equity near 30 percent, a valuation closer to leading African banking groups than most domestic peers.

The buying coincides with a turnaround in First HoldCo’s earnings. Profit before tax for the six months ended June 30, 2026, rose 83.5 percent to N653.54 billion, from N356.15 billion a year earlier. Second-quarter pre-tax profit rose to N332.42 billion, up 3.5 percent from N321.12 billion in the first quarter and 95.9 percent from N169.67 billion in the same quarter of 2025. Management attributed the performance to operating efficiency, improving asset quality, and growth in transaction banking and non-interest income.

The improvement follows a difficult 2025. Net profit for the year ended December 31, 2025, fell 92 percent to N44.98 billion, from N677.01 billion in 2024, First HoldCo’s weakest full-year result in eight years, after the bank took a N748.13 billion impairment haircut on legacy non-performing loans, up from N426.29 billion the year before.

That trend has since reversed. In the first half of 2026, impairment charges for credit losses fell 37.4 percent to N116.14 billion, from N185.40 billion in the same period of 2025, lifting net interest income after impairment to N762.99 billion, from N719.43 billion.

First HoldCo recovered N60 billion in bad loans so far this year, part of a broader push to clean up its balance sheet.

The holding company says it expects profit before tax to exceed N1.2 trillion ($876 million) for the full year 2026, as its recapitalisation drive and a clean-up of legacy bad loans begin to pay off.

Olusegun Alebiosu, chief executive officer of FirstBank, disclosed the projection in a recent interview.

The First HoldCo boss tied his improved outlook to fresh capital deployed from the Group’s ongoing recapitalisation programme, tighter cost control, and stronger recoveries from its non-performing loan book.