FBN Holdings Says, We’re Yet To Receive Notice Of Otedola’s Majority Shares

Following the report of the founder and chairman of the Geregu Energy Group, Femi Otedola, acquiring the majority shares of FBN Holdings (FBNH) Plc, the Company stated it is yet to receive notification to that effect.

 

According to the statement sent by FBN Holdings to the investing public on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited signed by the company secretary, Seye Kosoko, the attention of FBN Holdings had been drawn to media reports on October 22, 2020 purporting that a certain individual has acquired significant shareholding interest in the Company, therefore making him the majority shareholder in the Company.

 

The statement further said that “As a listed Company, the shares of FBN Holdings are publicly traded and sale and acquisition of shares is expected in the normal course of business. We operate in a regulated enrolment, which requires notification of significant shareholding by shareholders to the Company, where shares are held in different vehicles, further to which the Company will notify the regulators and the public as appropriate.

FBN Holdings stated it is yet to receive any notification from the individual mentioned in the media report of such acquisitions, saying that FBN Holdings will always notify the appropriate agencies and authorities whenever it receives any notice of significant shareholding by the shareholders and the company’s registrars.

 

It was reported that Otedola has been acquiring the shares of the FBN Holdings through a vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited. It is also likely that there could be other vehicles associated with Otedola who may have also been mopping up shares. FBN Holdings currently has 34.7 billion of its shares floating freely meaning it is held by diverse shareholders. This makes the shares easy to acquire on the stock exchange.

 

Nairametrics said, “Otedola, through his proxies and investing vehicles, now owns over five per cent of the bank, setting himself up to be the single largest shareholder of the bank.

 

In the first half (H1) of the year ended June 30, 2021, FBN Holdings reported a profit after tax of N38 billion up from N35 billion same period in 2020.

 

Speaking on the H1 performance of the Company, the Group managing director, U.K. Eke said, “FBN Holdings delivered a resilient performance in the half year, reflective of our focus on strengthening the organisation in recent years.

 

“We remain committed to our strategic objective of driving further stability in performance, as well as delivering sustainable growth over the years to come. In line with our focus on revenue diversification, we continue to grow our non-interest income as we progressively become a more transaction-led institution and implement innovative and technological driven measures to improve overall efficiency.

 

“The macro and socio-economic conditions remain challenging given the COVID-19 pandemic and the low-interest rates environment. While these points negatively impacted overall revenue generation, we are confident that FBN Holdings can navigate this challenging operating environment and keep delivering sustained innovative solutions that enrich customer experience as well as deepen financial inclusion.”