Fact-check: Did Otedola acquire majority shares in FirstBank?
Pascal Oparada
The Claim
Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, on Friday was rumoured to have acquired 1,818,551,625 units of shares from the Company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292,791 units of shares in Nigeria’s oldest bank, First Bank.
The news reverberated across social and conventional media, with Otedola becoming one of the most searched items on Google on Friday, amassing over 30,000 searches.
One of the news outlets that reported the news of the acquision, The Vanguard newspaper, quoted the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the source of the information, citing a letter purportedly written by FGN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank.
“We refer to our communication to the market dated October 22, 2021 on the above subject wherein we stated that we would inform the public of any substantial acquisition, upon receipt of notification from the shareholder.
This morning, October 23, 2021, FBN Holdings Plc received a notification from APT Securities and Funds Limited, that their Client, 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 35,895,292,791. Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Mr. Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee in the Company is now 5.07 per cent,” the letter quoted by Vanguard read.
The newspaper also quoted the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the source of the information.
However, a visit and search on the official website of the Exchange did not yield any result of the shares acquisition by Otedola.
FBN Holdings responds
On Friday, when the news of the acquisition became rife, FBN Holdings issued a rebuttal and said it has not received an official communication from Otedola about the said acquisition.
“The attention of FBN Holdings Plc has been drawn to media reports purporting that a certain individual has acquired significant shareholding interest in FBN Holding Plc, therefore making him the majority shareholder in the company.
“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 required notifications 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 public as appropriate,” it added.
Findings
The company, however, confirmed on Saturday that Otedola indeed bought 5.07 shares in FBN Holdings.
“We refer to our communication to the market dated October 22, on the above subject wherein we stated that we would inform the public of any substantial acquisition, upon receipt of notification from the Shareholder.
“This morning, Oct. 23, 2021, FBN Holdings Plc received a notification from APT Securities and Funds Ltd., that their client, Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee, Calvados Global Services Ltd. have acquired a total of 1,818,551,625 units of shares from the company’s issued share capital of 35,895,292,791.
“Based on the foregoing, the equity stake of Mr Otedola Olufemi Peter and his nominee in the company is now 5.07 per cent,” said the statement.
Commenting on the issue, Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., said Otedola is now the largest single shareholder in the company.
Conclusion
The report Is true and not speculative as earlier reported.
