Otudeko purchases 4.7 billion shares of First Bank

Oba Otudeko, the chairman of Nigerian conglomerate Honeywell Group, has purchased 4.7 billion shares of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings.

Otudeko, former chairman of the oldest financial institution in the country, was identified as the hand behind the mega transaction that happened on Thursday.

The shares which Otudeko bought for N87.8 billion at N19 per unit is the largest volume of First bank shares traded in a single day since 2012, when the stock exchange started publishing data. It also translates to 13 percent of the bank’s outstanding market value.

According to insider sources, Otudeko, who was chairman of First Bank until 2019, is making a swift comeback to become the single largest shareholder of the bank.

Billionaire Nigerian investor, Femi Otedola became the bank’s single largest shareholder in 2021 after a tussle with Hassan Odukale who was also vying for control of the bank after a leadership gap emerged from Otudeko’s exit.