FBN Holdings Plc, the holding company of First Bank Nigeria Limited, has confirmed Tunde Hassan-Odukale as the single-largest shareholder, holding 5.36 percent equity.
The bank also disclosed on Wednesday that Femi Otedola is the second largest shareholder with a 5.07 percent stake in the Group.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) also disclosed that the duo hold the largest stake in the bank.
FBN Holdings in a letter to the Director-General of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, notified the Bourse that Hassan-Odukale holds a cumulative of 5.36 percent of the Group, while Otedola holds a total of 5.07 percent, of the Group’s issued share capital.
The letter written by the Company Secretary, Seye Kosoko, was a response to the NGX’s request for clarification on the rationale for arriving at Odukale’s ownership, especially as holdings by entities like Leadway Pensure were added to its “cumulative stake” in the Group, even as Leadway Pensure is a pension fund administrator holding assets, including shares in companies, on behalf of the pension contributors, who are the ultimate beneficial owners of the assets.
In the letter, Kosoko, FBN Holdings defined “substantial shareholders” to mean “shareholders with 5% and above shareholdings”.
Last weekend, a rumble for the control of Nigeria’s oldest bank erupted with initial media reports saying Otedola had acquired a controlling stake in the bank.
Odukale and Otedola may have acquired substantial interests in FBN Holdings, neither of them has controlling interest yet, either from an accounting or statutory perspective.
While the bank initially said it had not been informed about Otedola’s significant acquisitions in its shares, it later confirmed the reports and indicated that he had actually amassed as much as 5.07 shareholding in FBN Holdings Plc.
The struggle may have just started and perhaps an indication of an eventful Annual General Meeting ahead for FBN Holdings.
Interestingly, the regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria, seems to have been silent on the matter at this time, perhaps watching for more events to unfold.
The shares of FBN Holdings remain one of the most liquid counters on the NGX, with a total of 75.46 million units traded at a value of N898.01 million some 28.04 percent of the total N3.20 billion value of transactions conducted on the NGX for the day.
