By Chinwendu Obienyi
First Bank of Nigeria Holdings (FBNH) Plc has said that it is yet to receive any notification from any individual on the reported new share ownership acquisitions in the bank.
This was disclosed by FBNH’s Company Secretary, Mr Seyi Kosoko, in a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Friday.
The company said that it always notifies the appropriate agencies and authorities whenever it received any notice of significant shareholding by the shareholders and its registrars.
The statement reads: “The attention of FBNH has been drawn to media reports of today, Oct. 22, purporting that a certain individual has acquired significant shareholding interest in FBN Holdings, making him the majority shareholder in the company.
“As a listed company, the shares of FBN Holdings are publicly traded, and sale and acquisition of shares is expected in the normal course of business.
“The company is yet to receive any notification from the individual mentioned in the media report of such acquisitions.
“FBN Holdings Plc will always notify the appropriate agencies and authorities whenever it receives any notice of significant shareholding by the shareholders and the company’s registrars.”
Foreign news agencies and other local online platforms had reported that Mr Femi Otedola, through his proxies and investing vehicles, now owns over five per cent of the bank, setting himself up to be the single largest shareholder of FBNH.
According to the agencies, shares of FBNH have been mopped up in the last six months when the share price traded at just above N7.
However, rumours of an imminent takeover started to make the rounds among traders pushing up the share price of the bank to breach the N8 ceiling by end of September 2021.