First HoldCo Plc has announced plans to sell a 25 per cent stake in the company that was recently transferred to a special purpose vehicle, RC Investment Management Ltd.
According to Bloomberg, the Managing Director of First HoldCo, Wale Oyedeji, disclosed the development during an investor conference call held in Lagos recently. “We will be disposing of those shares, and there are a range of options available to us,” Oyedeji said. “Ultimately, you will see that those shares will be disposed of in the market,” he added, without giving a timeline.
The shares, previously held by Barbican Capital Ltd., were transferred through an off-market transaction to RC Investment Management Ltd. in July. The block deal involved about 10.43 billion ordinary shares, equivalent to 25 per cent of First HoldCo’s total outstanding shares, traded across 17 negotiated deals at an average price of N31 per share. The transaction was valued at N323.33bn, Bloomberg added.
Oyedeji described RC Investment as a “temporary” holder of the shares, and affirmed that the company’s ongoing capital raise was “progressing as planned and not impacted by the recent share divestment,” according to Bloomberg.
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission had earlier raised concerns about the identity of the beneficial owner behind RC Investment Management. The divestment, once completed, is expected to bring clarity to the ownership structure of First HoldCo, which has drawn attention from regulators and investors over governance and transparency issues.
First HoldCo is currently working to strengthen its capital base in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new minimum capital requirements. The bank plans to raise N350bn in fresh capital through private placements this quarter, following a successful N147bn rights issue earlier this year.
Shareholders of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo) had approved the proposed N350bn capital raise and a change to the company’s legal and brand name at the last Annual General Meeting. The resolutions were filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
A dividend of 40 kobo per 50 kobo ordinary share, totalling N14.36bn, was also approved for the 2023 financial year.
The exit of Oba Otudeko, a major shareholder and former FirstBank chairman, from First HoldCo followed the July block transaction. The deal, which moved a quarter of the bank’s shares, also involved firms linked to another former chairman, Tunde Hassan-Odukale.
Data from CardinalStone Securities showed that the off-market trades boosted the total volume traded on the Nigerian Exchange by 807.03 per cent to 11.67 billion units, while the total value traded surged by 1,028.44 per cent to N363.41bn on the day of the transaction. First HoldCo shares also hit a 52-week high of N36.45 following the deal.
The Punch
