Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola tightens grip on First HoldCo with $31.7 million share purchase after $233 million Q1 profit

Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola is tightening his grip on First HoldCo after the Lagos-based financial services group posted a strong first-quarter performance that underscored the scale of the turnaround underway at Nigeria’s oldest banking franchise. Days after First HoldCo reported a profit before tax of N321 billion ($233.5 million) for the first quarter of 2026, Otedola moved to expand his stake in the lender with a fresh acquisition of shares worth N43.4 billion ($31.7 million), reinforcing his position as the company’s largest shareholder.

A notification of insider dealing on the Nigerian Exchange showed that Otedola acquired an additional 549,535,653 shares in the group through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited, in a transaction carried out on the floor of the exchange on Wednesday, May 13. The purchase, executed at an average price of N79 per share, lifted his holdings in First HoldCo from 8,055,314,486 shares, representing 18.12 percent, to 8,604,850,139 shares, equivalent to 19.36 percent, extending his ownership closer to the 20 percent mark.

Otedola deepens First HoldCo’s influence

The latest investment adds another chapter to Otedola’s repositioning from oil and commodities into banking. The billionaire, who built his first fortune in commodities before exiting Forte Oil and redirecting his attention to the energy business and financial services, has steadily increased his influence at First HoldCo since emerging as a major shareholder. His rise within the institution culminated in his appointment as Group Chairman on Jan. 31, 2024, when he succeeded Ahmad Abdullahi at the helm of the banking group.

Eighteen months into his tenure, the lender’s latest results are offering the clearest indication yet of the changes taking shape inside the institution. First HoldCo’s profit before tax climbed 72 percent in the first quarter to N321 billion ($233.5 million), compared with N186.47 billion in the corresponding period last year, as management pushed ahead with efforts aimed at improving earnings quality and rebuilding the balance sheet.

One of the clearest signals of that effort appeared in the lender’s non-interest income line. Loan recoveries from assets written off during the bank’s 2025 cleanup rose sharply to N19 billion ($13.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, compared with N1 billion ($0.72 million) in the same period a year earlier. The recoveries reflect cash being generated from loans previously removed from the books, giving the lender a source of income that flows directly to earnings without additional operating cost. For investors watching the bank’s restructuring efforts, the figures offered evidence that the cleanup carried out in 2025 is beginning to feed back into earnings.

First HoldCo targets fresh capital

At the same time, First HoldCo maintained a cautious stance on its balance sheet. Total assets stood at N26.8 trillion ($19.55 billion) at the end of March 2026, slightly below the level recorded in December 2025, as management focused on balance-sheet optimization rather than expansion for expansion’s sake. With the first-quarter performance strengthening investor attention around the group, management is now preparing for a new capital raise designed to reshape the lender’s scale within Nigeria’s banking sector. First HoldCo plans to seek shareholder approval to raise another N253 billion ($184.5 million) in fresh capital as part of a broader target to build a N1 trillion ($730 million) paid-up capital base.

The proposal was outlined in the notice for the company’s 14th Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 29, 2026. Under the plan, shareholders will vote on a special resolution authorizing the board to raise capital through a mix of public offers, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends or other equity instruments across Nigerian and international capital markets. The company said pricing would be determined through book building or another valuation method selected by the board at the time of execution.