LAGOS — In one of the most significant insider stock acquisitions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) this year, billionaire tycoon Femi Otedola has dramatically strengthened his grip on First HoldCo Plc. According to a regulatory filing released on Wednesday, the financial services group’s chairman purchased fresh shares valued at approximately ₦43.41 billion, positioning himself firmly at the helm of the parent company of Nigeria’s oldest commercial bank, First Bank.

The Mechanics of the Multi-Billion Naira Deal

The massive transaction, which was executed on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, involved the acquisition of 549,535,653 ordinary shares at a premium price of ₦79 per unit.

Otedola routed the entire purchase through Calvados Global Services Limited, his special purpose acquisition and investment vehicle. Prior to this latest move, the audited financial reports from December 2025 indicated that Otedola held a combined stake of 18.12% in the banking group:

  • Direct Holding: 7.3% (approximately 3.3 billion shares held in his personal name).

  • Indirect Holding: 10.82% (roughly 4.8 billion shares managed via Calvados Global Services).

With this fresh open-market accumulation, his total shareholding has aggressively climbed to 19.35%, pushing his total volume to over 8.60 billion shares. While Otedola is widely recognized as the single largest individual investor in the group, he currently ranks as the second-largest shareholder overall, right behind institutional investor RC Investment Management Ltd, which maintains a 23.47% equity stake (10.43 billion shares).

A Highly Strategic Timeline of Stake Building

This ₦43.4 billion bet represents Otedola’s largest single open-market purchase since he took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors in January 2024. It also marks his most expensive entry on a per-share basis, illustrating an impressive trail of accumulation:

  • September 2025: Acquired 64.9 million shares valued at ₦2 billion.

  • December 2025: Procured 370 million shares at ₦40.1 each, an investment totaling ₦14.8 billion.

  • May 2026: Locked in 549.5 million shares at ₦79 each, nearly doubling his entry price from just five months prior.

The timing of this acquisition is highly strategic. It comes directly on the heels of First HoldCo's stellar Q1 2026 financial report, which revealed a massive 72.2% jump in profit before tax, hitting ₦321.12 billion compared to ₦186.48 billion in Q1 2025. This exceptional performance validated the aggressive ₦830 billion impairment strategy the board implemented in 2025 to clean up the bank's balance sheet.

Furthermore, the purchase comes just ahead of the highly anticipated Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for May 29, 2026. At the meeting, shareholders are expected to deliberate on a massive ₦253 billion capital raise to be executed via public offers, rights issues, or private placements as part of First HoldCo’s strategic push to achieve a ₦1 trillion capital base.

Reshaping the Ownership Landscape

Otedola's aggressive consolidation follows an unprecedented boardroom and shareholding shakeup that occurred last July. His former closest rivals for top ownership of First HoldCo Oba Otudeko (controlling Barbican Capital Limited) and Oye Hassan-Odukale (former CEO of Leadway Assurance) abruptly liquidated and sold off their stakes.

In a single trading day, an astronomical 10.4 billion shares representing nearly 25% of the group’s total equity were traded off-market in 17 massive blocks to RC Investment Management Limited.

Otedola’s pivot to financial services showcases a complete evolution of his multi-billion dollar portfolio. After divesting entirely from his majority stake in African Petroleum (which became Forte Oil and is now Ardova Plc) in December 2018, he transitioned heavily into power generation via Geregu Power Plc. In December 2025, Otedola successfully divested a substantial portion of his holdings in Geregu Power in a deal valued at $750 million, providing him with the immense liquidity required to bankroll his current conquest of Nigeria's banking sector.

Following Wednesday's transaction, market enthusiasm reached a fever pitch, pushing trading volume past 575 million shares the highest single-day trading activity recorded on the NGX in 2026 and extending First HoldCo's year-to-date return past 57%.