FirstHoldCo Shares Tumble After Otudeko’s N196bn Sale

The share price of First HoldCo Plc, the parent of Nigeria’s oldest lender FirstBank, plunged by 4.1 percent on Friday following the sale of holdings worth N196 billion by a long-time significant shareholder Oba Otudeko.

First HoldCo closed at N33.95 per share, down from N35.40 on Thursday, data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) shows.

Otudeko’s exit from the holding company followed a years-long tussle involving billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, who became the chair of First HoldCo last year.

A total of 6,314,116,229 units were sold by Otudeko’s Barbican Capital Limited for N31 per share on Wednesday, according to a document obtained by Markets Reporters from the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Friday.

In 2021, Otedola loaded up on the shares of First HoldCo, then known as FBN Holdings, and emerged the biggest individual shareholder. He was appointed chairman of the company in January 2024, less than six months after he became a non-executive director.