File photo: Femi Otedola
Otedola Strengthens Lot In First HoldCo, Acquires More Shares Worth N18bn
Billionaire investor and Group Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, has further consolidated his controlling position in the financial services group following an insider transaction worth N18.11bn on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
According to an official regulatory disclosure filed with the NGX on Friday, August 7, 2026, Calvados Global Services Limited, an entity closely tied to Otedola, acquired an aggregate of 138,041,465 ordinary shares of First HoldCo Plc on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
The transaction involved ordinary shares of First HoldCo Plc, trading under ISIN NGFBNH000009 on the NGX in Lagos. The purchase was executed by Calvados Global Services Limited, a corporate entity tied directly to the Group Chairman.
The transaction comprised 138,041,465 ordinary shares purchased at an execution price of N131.20 per share, bringing the total consideration to N18,111,040,208.00 (N18.11bn). The trade took place on Thursday, August 6, 2026, and was officially communicated to the market by the Group Company Secretary, Abiola Baruwa, on Friday, August 7, 2026.
The disclosure stated that the transaction took place at a uniform price of N131.20 per share on the Lagos trading floor. The single-day purchase is one of the largest direct equity acquisitions by an insider on the Nigerian bourse this year.
The filing was made in compliance with regulatory provisions on insider share disclosures for persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them. Calvados Global Services Limited is formally registered as a company related to a significant shareholder and board leader, Otedola.
The purchase marks Otedola’s third major equity acquisition in less than three weeks, following earlier multi-billion-naira share purchases in late July 2026. The latest transaction brings his total beneficial shareholding in First HoldCo Plc to approximately 27.16 per cent of the company’s total issued share capital, reinforcing his position as the single largest shareholder in the financial group.
The aggressive share acquisition comes amid First HoldCo’s ongoing recapitalisation programme, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s mandatory recapitalisation directives for commercial and holding banking institutions.
Otedola recently outlined his long-term strategic vision for the financial institution, stating that his ambition is to steer it through a multi-year growth plan rather than treat his investment as a short-term trading portfolio.
Reacting to the ongoing equity accumulation and market positioning, Otedola said in a recent strategic update, “That figure speaks not to speculation but to unflinching confidence in the institution’s future and my unwavering commitment to its success. If you look at my antecedents, my investment threshold is always centered on long-term value creation.”
A Lagos-based trader and capital market analyst, Ade Ojapa, noted that insider capital injections of this scale signal strong institutional confidence in First HoldCo’s operational efficiency, balance sheet recovery and long-term earnings potential.
“Market participants expect the sheer size of the trade to boost trading volume and sentiment around First HoldCo equities as the market digests the structural impact of the deal,” he added.
