According to reports, billionaire industrialist Femi Otedola has sold all of his shares in Transcorp Plc to the company’s chairman and largest shareholder, Tony Elumelu.
The action concludes an intriguing corporate spectacle that has been rocking Nigeria’s capital markets for several days.
According to sources, Otedola and Elumelu negotiated the transaction, which was brokered by prominent mutual acquaintances of the two tycoons.
It was reported that Elumelu paid Otedola a 400% premium over Transcorp’s Thursday closing price in order to purchase his block of shares.
This would imply that Otedola, who owned 2.6 billion shares or 6.3% of the company, was compensated in the vicinity of NGN 12.5 ($0.027) per share and received a N32.5 billion ($70 million) payout.
However, neither Transcorp nor Otedola’s investment vehicle, Calvadas Global, have confirmed the development.
Recall that on April 12, Otedola, the chairman of Geregu Power, purchased a 5.52 percent stake in Transcorp, making him the company’s second-largest shareholder.
AMCON and an entity owned by Otedola successfully completed the transaction.
A few days later, Otedola purchased additional shares, increasing his stake in the conglomerate to 6.3%.
The acquisition suggested that the billionaire investor would likely set the stage for a bidding war for control of one of Nigeria’s most prominent and indigenous conglomerates.
In the past two weeks, its stock price increased by 128 percent due to the news.
Elumelu acquired an additional 9.7 billion shares in separate transactions over the course of several days, bringing his total stake in the group to 10.5 billion shares, or 25.9 percent, and solidifying his position as Transcorp’s largest shareholder.
