The Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, is now Transcorp's second-largest stakeholder after purchasing 5.52% of the company's shares, as reported by Nairametrics, a Nigerian business news publication.
The acquisition seems to suggest that Femi Otedola is probably going to start another bidding battle for control of one of Nigeria's most prominent and successful indigenous enterprises.
Tony Elumelu, a billionaire investor who took over management of Transcorp in 2012, currently controls the corporation. Since that time, the business has acquired a power generation firm and expanded into the oil and gas industries.
Otedola's 5% acquisition of Transcorp is reminiscent of his purchase of FBN Holdings shares early last year when he stated he had increased his shareholdings above the 5% level, which ultimately almost immediately sparked a stock market bidding frenzy. Transcorp, in contrast to FBN Holdings, is governed by a single majority shareholder.
At the close of trading on April 11, over 1.5 billion Transcrop shares worth around N2.1 billion crossed, according to an earlier report released by Nairametrics on Tuesday. Another 115 million shares of the equities were exchanged, with the share price closing at N1.4.
Further investigation would lead to the publication's later confirmation that the deal had been struck between a company owned by Femi Otedola and an unidentified vendor. However, a different source affirmed that the transaction mentioned on Tuesday was associated with AMCON.
“No other shareholder held above 5% according to our records. The company also has about 39.65 billion out of its 40.65 billion outstanding shares on a free float. In fact, 1,695 people own about 89% of the company’s shares,” the report reads in part.
“Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) released its financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2022, showing the Group’s total revenue rose by 21% from N111.2 billion in December 2021 to N134.7 billion in the period under review. Its operating profit also experienced significant growth, rising from N38.5 billion in December 2021 to N46.7 billion in December 2022,” the report adds.
Additionally, “Its profit before tax rose by 8% to N30.3 billion compared to N27.9 billion in December 2021, however, profit after tax fell from about N23.8 billion to N16.8 billion.”