Nigerian banking tycoon Herbert Wigwe has seen the market value of his Access Holdings stake rise by more than $2 million in the past five days, as shares in the leading financial services group rebound after dropping by more than five percent after the release of its half-year earnings report.
According to data obtained by Billionaires.Africa, the market value of Wigwe’s equity interest in Access Holdings has increased by N910.71 million ($2.1 million) in the past five days, rising from N12.45 billion ($28.58 million) on Sept. 21 to N13.36 billion ($30.67 million) at the time of writing.
The $2-million increase in the market value of his stake in Access Holdings can be attributed to the recent 7.32-percent surge in the shares of the leading financial services group, as investors renewed buying interest in the bank’s shares after they fell below key technical levels.
Access Holdings is Nigeria’s largest financial services group in terms of assets, as well as one of the most capitalized financial institutions on the Nigerian Exchange. Its operations span 10 African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Gambia, and Mozambique.
According to its interim financial results, its profits for the first six months of 2022 rose by 2.2 percent to N88.74 billion ($207.2 million), up from N86.8 billion ($202.6 million) in the same period last year, as it continues to leverage its broad-based pan-African operations to create value for its shareholders.
Wigwe, a multimillionaire Nigerian business executive who was instrumental in the pan-African banking group’s growth and expansion, owns a significant 4.27-percent stake in the bank, or 1,517,850,729 ordinary shares.
Shares in the leading financial services group were trading at N8.8 ($0.0202) per share as of press time on Sept. 26, unchanged from their opening price on the Nigerian Exchange this morning.
Wigwe’s 4.27-percent stake is presently worth more than $30 million, while Access Holdings’ market capitalization on the local bourse is N313 billion ($720.1 million).
