Nigeria’s oldest bank confirms finance mogul Tunde Hassan-Odukale as largest shareholder

One of Nigeria’s leading financial services groups, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings (FBNH), has confirmed finance mogul Tunde Hassan-Odukale as the largest shareholder in the banking group.

Hassan-Odukale is the managing director and CEO of Leadway Assurance Company, an insurance group that his father Hassan Olusola Odukale founded in 1970. He is also the chairman of First Bank Nigeria Limited, the banking subsidiary of FBNH.

In a recent statement, FBNH management disclosed that Hassan-Odukale holds a 5.36-percent stake in group, making him the largest shareholder in the leading financial services holding.

The disclosure follows reports that Nigerian energy mogul Femi Otedola held the largest stake.

The reports were published after the billionaire completed the acquisition of a substantial 5.07-percent stake in the financial services group worth N22.27 billion ($54.2 million).

A breakdown of the holding’s share structure revealed that Otedola and Hassan-Odukale are the only individuals who hold more than a five-percent stake in the group.

According to the statement, Hassan-Odukale directly holds 26,231,887 shares, or 0.07 percent, while his indirect holdings stand at 1,897,280,212 shares, or 5.29 percent. His total stake in the bank is therefore assessed at 5.36-percent, or 1,923,512,099 ordinary shares.

Meanwhile, Otedola holds 10 million ordinary shares, or 0.03-percentm, directly, and another 1,808,551,625, or 5.04 percent, indirectly, making him the second-largest shareholder.

Publication of the data debunks earlier claims by stock market observers that Nigerian tycoons Mike Adenuga and Obafoluke Otudeko also hold substantial stakes in the Lagos-based lender.

As of press time, Oct. 28, shares in FBNH were trading at N11.25 ($0.02836), 2.58-percent lower than its opening price of N11.65 ($0.02836) this morning.

At the current price valuation, the market value of Hassan-Odukale and Otedola’s stakes are valued at N22.4 billion ($54.6 million) and N21.07 billion ($51.3 million), respectively.