Femi Otedola’s wealth has risen to $2 billion, according to Forbes, placing him within $100 million of Tanzania’s Mohammed Dewji and $200 million of Zimbabwe’s Strive Masiyiwa. Dewji, chief executive of MeTL Group, is valued at $2.1 billion, while Masiyiwa, founder of Econet Group, stands at $2.2 billion.
The increase is linked to his stake in FirstHoldCo Plc, the parent of FirstBank, whose share price has advanced strongly on the Nigerian Exchange.
FirstHoldCo Crosses N7 Trillion
FirstHoldCo shares rose 8.1 per cent on Friday, climbing from N148 to N160 and lifting the group’s market capitalisation to N7.28 trillion. That made it the first listed Nigerian bank to surpass the N7 trillion mark and cemented its position as the country’s most valuable lender by market capitalisation, ahead of Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
The group’s market value has grown from about N5 trillion in June to N7.28 trillion.
Building the Stake
Otedola has increased his exposure through his investment vehicle, Calvados Global Services Limited. Since 22 July he has spent about N351.2 billion on five disclosed purchases. His latest acquisition was 95.7 million FirstHoldCo shares for N12.58 billion on 24 August.
That transaction raised his total holding to approximately 12.23 billion shares, or about 26.6 per cent of the company. The subsequent share-price rally has therefore sharply increased the market value of his investment.
Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.3 billion in March. It rose to about $1.8 billion in August before reaching the latest $2 billion mark, a gain of roughly $700 million in six months. Forbes updates billionaire net worth during market hours when holdings are in publicly traded companies, so the figures move with share prices.
Otedola’s portfolio extends beyond banking. He previously sold his majority stake in Geregu Power for about $750 million and retained a 5 per cent interest in the electricity generating company, according to Forbes.
He was among Africa’s fastest-rising billionaires in August. Aliko Dangote later recorded a larger gain after Forbes revalued his refinery, lifting his net worth above $51 billion from $31.5 billion on 4 September.
FTSE Frontier 50 Inclusion
FirstHoldCo’s valuation rise coincides with its debut in the FTSE Frontier 50 Index. It is one of six Nigerian companies in the 50-stock benchmark, alongside Zenith Bank, GTCO, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement and Aradel Holdings.
The inclusion follows Nigeria’s return to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Market classification after three years as an Unclassified market. FTSE Russell said its review of Nigeria’s move from T+2 to T+1 settlement found no material operational, funding or settlement problems that would block the return.
Index membership could raise FirstHoldCo’s profile among international investors and attract demand from funds that track the benchmark. Actual inflows will depend on the company’s weighting in the index, the assets benchmarked against it and broader appetite for Nigerian equities.
For local investors, the episode underlines how quickly Nigerian equity prices can move. Whether the gains are sustained will depend on FirstHoldCo’s earnings, conditions in the equities market and foreign interest now that Nigeria is back in the FTSE frontier universe.
