The businessman turned the tables on the conglomerate’s two
previous biggest owners to take the prime spot.
Transcorp’s shares numbering 2.4 billion units exchanged
hands in the open market in the period, implying most, if not all of Mr
Elumelu’s new shares were acquired off the market.
The move ramps up his combined stake in the group to 10.5
billion shares or 25.9 per cent. A breakdown revealed 273.1 million units were
directly held, according to the 2022 financial report, while 273.5 million were
held indirectly through Heirs Holdings.
The rest were held through HH Capital.
The businessman’s stake is valued at N32.9 billion, going by
Transcorp’s share price at market close on Thursday.
“With this new acquisition, HH Capital Limited now holds a
total of 9,991,173,177 units, representing 25.58% of the Company’s total
shares,” Transcorp said in a statement.
Calculation from data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the
acquisition’s regulatory filing and Transcorp’s 2022 audited financial report
showed that, taken separately, the stake held through HH Capital, represents
24.6 per cent of Transcorp’s total issued shares of 40.6 billion units.
The announcement on Thursday signals the latest twist in the
scramble for Transcorp, whose flagship energy business is the latest lure for
billionaire investor Femi Otedola.
Details of Mr Otedola’s initial 5.5 per cent covert
acquisition became public a fortnight ago.
He would later raise his stake to 6.3 per cent, placing him
at that point in the second position behind UBA Nominees, which holds 9.3 per
cent. UBA Nominees is the custodian business of United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Mr. Elumelu’s new acquisition confers on him more than one
quarter of Transcorp’s entire voting rights and also means those two will now
take the back seat behind him among Transcorp’s top three shareholders.
He chairs Nigeria’s third biggest bank by assets, UBA, where
he is the biggest shareholder, wielding a 6.4 per cent stake worth N17.2
billion at market close on Thursday.