Following impressive gains in his stake in the first two months of 2023, Nigerian billionaire banker Jim Ovia’s net worth has dropped significantly since the start of March, owing to the recent decline in Zenith Bank Plc’s share price.
According to data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange, Jim Ovia, a prominent Nigerian investor and businessman, has seen the value of his stake in Zenith Bank decline by $18.2 million since the start of this month.
The recent drop follows a notable increase of more than $14 million in the first 54 days of 2023.
Zenith Bank, which boasts a market capitalization of N785 billion ($1.7 billion), is Nigeria’s most profitable bank and the largest listed financial services group on the Nigerian Exchange.
Despite this, it has slipped to the eighth-most valuable company on the local bourse due to a recent pullback in its share price.
Jim Ovia, the founder of Zenith Bank and a key figure in the evolution and digital transformation of the Nigerian banking industry, currently holds a significant 16.2-percent stake in the leading financial services group, which translates to 5,072,104,311 ordinary shares.
However, in just 13 days, the Nigerian billionaire banker has experienced a drop in the market value of his stake in Zenith Bank, with its value falling from N135.2 billion ($293.5 million) on March 1 to N126.8 billion ($275.3 million) on March 14, equating to a decrease of N8.4 billion ($18.2 million).
Zenith Bank shares slump following move to transition into a holding company
The decline in the market value of Ovia’s stake can be attributed to the recent 6.2-percent drop in the bank’s share price.
This was likely influenced by some cautious investors who chose to book profits following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) approval of Zenith Bank’s transition into a non-operating financial holding company.
This move will bring Zenith Bank in line with other major financial services providers, such as Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holdings Co., Plc., First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc., and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, which have already adopted a holding company structure.
