Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) has revealed that Tony Elumelu, the chairman of the company, has acquired fresh 9.7 billion shares in separate deals in recent days.

The acquisition made him the biggest shareholder of the company, taking the prime spot from two previous owners. The conglomerate’s shares numbering 2.4 billion units exchanged hands in the open market in the period, suggesting that the majority, if not all, of Mr Elumelu’s new shares were acquired off the market.

The move has reportedly increased his combined stake in the group to 10.5 billion shares or 25.9 percent. A breakdown has revealed that 273.1 million units were directly held, 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.

According to a statement from Transcorp, “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”.

Premium Times’ calculation, based on 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 percent of Transcorp’s total issued shares of 40.6 billion units.

The announcement on Thursday signals the latest twist in the scramble for Transcorp, Nigeria’s third-biggest bank by assets. The flagship energy business of the group is the latest lure for billionaire investor Femi Otedola. Details of Mr. Otedola’s initial 5.5 percent covert acquisition became public a fortnight ago, he would later raise his stake to 6.3 percent, placing him in the second position behind UBA Nominees. UBA Nominees is the custodian business of United Bank for Africa (UBA). The new acquisition by Mr. Elumelu will now put him ahead of UBA Nominees and Mr. Otedola.

As the largest shareholder, Mr. Elumelu has more than one quarter of Transcorp’s entire voting rights, and also means that the other two top shareholders will now take a back seat behind him among Transcorp’s top three.

In summary, it is not yet clear what this acquisition means for Transcorp but it is expected that Elumelu’s ownership of the company’s voting rights will mean more investments and decisions in the company’s future.

Source: Premium Times Nigeria