First HoldCo Chairman Femi Otedola has acquired a further 706.13 million ordinary shares in the company worth about 77.6 billion naira in a single transaction, raising his combined shareholding to more than 9.27 billion shares, representing 21.95 percent of the company.
A regulatory filing showed that Calvados Global Services Limited, a company linked to Otedola, bought the shares at 109.88 naira each on July 22, 2026, in what was classified as an insider dealing notification and one of the largest disclosed insider share purchases on the Nigerian Exchange this year.
The purchase comes amid a sustained rally in First HoldCo shares, driven by record profitability, improving asset quality and growing investor confidence in the bank’s turnaround, and follows the company’s recent half year results showing record earnings and its emergence as the first Nigerian banking stock to cross a five trillion naira market capitalization.
Before the latest purchase, Otedola held a combined 20.4 percent stake in the company as of June 30, 2026, comprising both direct and indirect holdings. Unlike Otedola’s past pattern of building near total ownership in companies such as Geregu Power, where he once held about 78 percent before gradually reducing his position, First HoldCo has a broad shareholder base with a free float of 56.59 percent, leaving room for further accumulation without disrupting the company’s ownership structure.
For the six months ended June 30, 2026, First HoldCo reported pre tax profit of 653.54 billion naira, an 83.5 percent increase from the same period in 2025, alongside interest income of 1.4 trillion naira and continued improvement in asset quality and capital adequacy, making it one of the standout performers on the exchange this year.
