Femi Otedola is now largest shareholder of First Bank

Billionaire Investor, Femi Otedola, is said to have acquired majority stake in Fist Bank of Nigeria with his recent acquisition of about N30 billion worth of shares, making him the single largest shareholder of the bank.

It will be recalled that First Bank was in the news earlier as the CBN had reason to sack the Board due to some perceived insider abuses by the Directors and the fact that the bank has been under regulatory forbearance for a time. At the same time, some of the Directors were directed to pay off their indebtedness to the bank, which some had secured with their share holdings in the bank. It is argued that the massive sales of the shares of the bank on the floor of the Nigerian stock exchange may not be unconnected with this.

Femi Otedola is a turnaround specialist famous for taking over African Petroleum and turning it into a dominant player in the oil and gas sector.

The investor seized the window of share purchase in First Bank and has been mopping up shares of the bank for months gradually accumulating his ownership and surpassing shares owned by any other single shareholder of the bank.