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Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, has increased his stake in the Lagos-based financial services group through the acquisition of an additional 8 million shares.
This solidifies his ownership in the banking group, which presently ranks as Nigeria’s most profitable banking business.
According to separate notifications of shares dealing by an insider published on the website of the Nigerian Exchange, the banking executive purchased 3,463,461 ordinary shares at an average price of N23.93 ($0.0519) per share on May 4, and another 4,536,539 ordinary shares at an average price of N24.01 ($0.052) per share on May 5 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange.
The total consideration for the purchase amounts to N191.2 million ($414,400).
Following the latest acquisition, Onyeagwu’s stake in Zenith Bank has increased from 0.26 percent, or 82,176,078 ordinary shares, to 0.29 percent, or 90,176,078 ordinary shares.
As a result, the market value of the stake currently held by the banking executive is worth N2.157 billion ($4.67 million), making him one of the key investors on the Nigerian Exchange.
Since Onyeagwu became the CEO of Zenith Bank in June 2019, the bank’s profit and total assets have grown substantially, from N180.3 billion ($390.6 million) and N5.43 trillion ($11.76 billion) in 2019 to N234.6 billion ($508.04 million) and N10.57 trillion ($22.9 billion) in 2022, respectively.
Under his leadership, Zenith Bank reported a profit of N66.01 billion ($143.3 million) in the first three months of 2023, representing a 13.4-percent increase from the N58.2 billion ($126.4 million) posted in the first quarter of 2022.
Onyeagwu’s latest purchase signals his confidence in the bank’s performance and its future prospects.
It also reinforces his position as a top shareholder and investor in the bank, which is well-regarded as one of the most stable and profitable financial services institutions in Nigeria.
