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First HoldCo Plc, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and chaired by billionaire investor Femi Otedola, has completed the sale of its entire stake in FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited to EverQuest Acquisition LLP. The buyer is a consortium that includes Custodian Investments Plc, Aion Investments, and Evercorp Industries.
First HoldCo finalizes sale to EverQuest
The deal closes a lengthy internal restructuring that First HoldCo began several years ago to tidy its investment banking and asset-management units. The planned divestment first became public in September 2024, when First HoldCo disclosed that it intended to exit the merchant-banking arm. In a regulatory filing dated Nov. 27, 2025, the group confirmed that all approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria had been secured, bringing the process to an end and formally transferring full ownership to EverQuest.
Executives described the move as a deliberate “strategic separation.” Behind that phrasing was a broader push to simplify the HoldCo model, reduce regulatory pressure tied to non-core businesses, and free up capital for areas with stronger prospects. With the sale now wrapped up, EverQuest takes operational and strategic control of the merchant bank, while First HoldCo can step back from a business that contributed only a small share of its group revenue.
The transaction also shifts the competitive field in Nigeria’s merchant-banking market. FBNQuest Merchant Bank, licensed by the central bank, has built a reputation for advising companies, arranging funding, and offering specialist products to corporate clients. Under new ownership, industry analysts expect the bank to pursue a more aggressive expansion strategy.
First HoldCo streamlines operations under Femi Otedola
The sale comes at a time when Femi Otedola’s influence within the group is widely noted. First Bank, the group’s flagship and the country’s oldest bank, has weathered years of governance lapses and credit missteps that weakened market confidence. Otedola who became the largest shareholder in 2021 maintained that the bank could recover with steadier management and discipline.
After he was appointed chairman in January 2024, he moved quickly to impose cost controls and sharpen oversight. One of his earliest directives—scrapping the use of private jets for executive travel—sent a clear message about spending restraint. He also set rules that pushed for more transparency and accountability across the group.
FBNQuest Merchant Bank’s origins stretch back to First HoldCo’s acquisition of Kakawa Discount House in 2014. It received regulatory approval to operate as a merchant bank the following year. The unit accounted for less than 5 percent of group assets and earnings, and insiders say the decision to sell was consistent with efforts to refocus the business and limit distractions from its core banking operations.
With the divestment now completed, First HoldCo can redirect management time and capital toward its main banking franchise, while the new owners of FBNQuest move to chart their own course for the merchant-banking brand.
