Nigerian energy tycoon Wale Tinubu gains $40 million from Oando stake

Yusuf Abdulfatai -

In just 17 days, Nigerian businessman Wale Tinubu has seen the market value of his stake in Oando Plc surge by more than $40 million on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as investors continue to mop up Oando shares on the Nigerian Exchange.

Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the stake owned by the energy tycoon in Oando Plc has surged by N31.38 billion ($40.01 million) in the past 17 days as investors on the local bourse react to the company’s latest move to acquire 100 percent of the Italian-owned shares of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC Ltd).

Oando is a Nigerian multinational energy company in the upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas sectors. It is dual-listed on the Nigerian Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Its decision to acquire Italian-owned NAOC, which is poised to redefine Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape, is set to substantially elevate Oando’s stake in OMLs 60, 61, 62, and 63 from 20 percent to an impressive 40 percent. The deal, however, remains contingent upon securing ministerial consent and regulatory approvals.

Tinubu, a towering figure in the Nigerian energy industry who owns 66.67 percent of  Ocean and Oil Development Partners (OODP), has an indirect stake in Oando. OODP, the investment firm owned by Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo, owns 7,131,736,637 ordinary shares in Oando.

Since the start of September, Oando shares on the Nigerian Exchange have surged by 120 percent, climbing from N5.50 ($0.007) on Sept. 1 to N12.10 ($0.0153) at the time of writing, thus leading to gains amounting to millions of dollars for its shareholders, including  Tinubu.

As a result of the 120-percent surge in the share price of the Nigerian integrated energy solutions provider, the market value of the stake held by Tinubu has surged by N31.38 billion ($40.01 million) in 17 days, climbing from N26.15 billion ($33.34 million) on Sept. 1 to N57.53 billion ($73.35 million) at the time of writing.

This substantial increase has solidified Tinubu’s position as one of the richest investors on the local bourse and one of the country’s richest men. Through OODP, Tinubu is also mulling plans to take Oando private.