Billionaire businessman and Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, has increased his shareholding in the financial services group to 20.42 per cent following the acquisition of about 680 million shares through the company’s recently completed private placement programme.

Details of the allotment indicate that Otedola received approximately 672.9 million shares valued at about N29.6 billion, further consolidating his position as the largest shareholder in the institution.

The shares were acquired under a N45 billion private placement in which investors subscribed at N44 per share, a price significantly below First HoldCo’s market value. The company’s shares closed at N61.00 on Thursday after gaining 0.83 per cent during the trading session.

Sources familiar with the transaction disclosed that Otedola and another institutional investor accounted for roughly 90 per cent of the funds raised during the capital exercise.

The latest investment is estimated to have increased Otedola’s total holdings in the company to about 9.29 billion shares, strengthening his influence within the group and extending a series of strategic acquisitions made over the past year.

First HoldCo had earlier announced the successful completion of the second tranche of its ongoing N350 billion private placement programme after securing approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to the company, proceeds from the capital raise will be injected into First Bank of Nigeria Limited as part of efforts to strengthen its balance sheet, restore capital and support long-term growth.

The capital injection has raised the group’s share capital to approximately N525.6 billion, placing it above the minimum regulatory capital requirement set for banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Otedola’s latest acquisition comes weeks after another major share purchase executed through Calvados Global Services Limited on the Nigerian Exchange. The transaction involved the acquisition of more than 549 million shares valued at about N43.4 billion.

That purchase increased his shareholding from over 8.05 billion shares, as recorded in the company’s 2025 audited financial statements, to approximately 8.6 billion shares before the latest allotment.

The ongoing recapitalisation programme forms part of First HoldCo’s broader strategy to attain a paid-up capital base of N1 trillion, a target approved by shareholders during the company’s 14th Annual General Meeting held on May 29, 2026.

The N1 trillion goal is double the Central Bank’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement for banks with international banking licences and is aimed at strengthening the group’s financial position and competitiveness.

Before the latest fundraising exercise, the group had already injected about N270 billion into FirstBank as part of its recapitalisation plan. The recently completed N45 billion private placement represents the second tranche of the wider N350 billion capital-raising programme.

Market activity in First HoldCo shares remained robust on Thursday, with investors trading approximately 115.8 million shares valued at about N7 billion on the Nigerian Exchange.