Otedola's fortune hits $2bn as FirstHoldCo crosses N7tn market cap
By Aboki Forex —
Femi Otedola's fortune has climbed to $2 billion, according to Forbes, putting him within $100 million of Tanzania's Mohammed Dewji and $200 million of Zimbabwe's Strive Masiyiwa. Dewji, chief executive of MeTL Group, is valued at $2.1 billion, while Masiyiwa, founder of Econet Group, stands at $2.2 billion.
The rise is tied to his stake in FirstHoldCo Plc, the parent company of FirstBank, whose share price has rallied hard on the Nigerian Exchange.
FirstHoldCo crosses N7 trillion
FirstHoldCo shares jumped 8.1 percent on Friday, rising from N148 to N160, pushing the financial services group's market capitalisation to N7.28 trillion. That made it the first listed Nigerian bank to cross the N7 trillion threshold. It also cemented its position as Nigeria's most valuable lender by market capitalisation, ahead of Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
The group's market value has risen from about N5 trillion in June to N7.28 trillion.
Otedola's stake build-up
Otedola has been raising his exposure through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited. Since July 22, he has spent about N351.2 billion building his stake through five disclosed transactions. His latest purchase was 95.7 million FirstHoldCo shares acquired for N12.58 billion on August 24.
That transaction lifted his total holding to approximately 12.23 billion shares, or about 26.6 percent of the company. The share price surge has therefore raised the market value of his investment sharply.
Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.3 billion in March. It rose to about $1.8 billion in August before hitting the latest $2 billion mark, a gain of roughly $700 million in six months. Forbes updates billionaire net worth during market hours when their holdings are in publicly traded companies, so the figures move with share prices.
Otedola's portfolio extends beyond banking. He previously sold his majority stake in Geregu Power for about $750 million and retained a 5 percent interest in the electricity generating company, according to Forbes.
He was among Africa's fastest-rising billionaires in August. Aliko Dangote later recorded a bigger gain after Forbes revalued his refinery, lifting his net worth above $51 billion from $31.5 billion on September 4.
FTSE Frontier 50 inclusion
FirstHoldCo's valuation run coincides with its debut in the FTSE Frontier 50 Index. It is one of six Nigerian companies in the 50-stock benchmark, alongside Zenith Bank, GTCO, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement and Aradel Holdings.
The inclusion follows Nigeria's return to FTSE Russell's Frontier Market classification after three years as an Unclassified market. FTSE Russell said its assessment of Nigeria's move from T+2 to T+1 settlement found no material operational, funding or settlement problems blocking the return.
Index inclusion could raise FirstHoldCo's visibility among international investors and draw demand from funds tracking the benchmark. The actual inflow will depend on the company's index weighting, the assets benchmarked against it and broader appetite for Nigerian equities.
For Nigerian investors, the story is a reminder of how quickly local equity prices can move. Whether the gains hold will depend on FirstHoldCo's earnings, conditions in the equities market and foreign interest now that Nigeria is back in the FTSE frontier universe.