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Femi Otedola's holding in First HoldCo Plc is worth about $1.227 billion (N1.674 trillion) after the shares reached a record N140 on the Nigerian Exchange on Thursday, according to a Billionaires.Africa calculation.
The valuation rests on 11,956,589,264 shares, the figure Otedola confirmed directly to Billionaires.Africa following his most recent purchase. Conversion uses the Central Bank of Nigeria rate of N1,363.85 to the dollar on Thursday.
The rally has already turned a profit on the block he bought a week ago. Otedola acquired 1,779,094,976 shares on 30 July at N124.9 apiece, spending N222.21 billion through his investment vehicle Calvados Global Services Limited. That tranche is worth N249.07 billion at Thursday's price, a paper gain of N26.86 billion, or about $19.7 million, in five trading sessions, a Billionaires.Africa calculation shows.
Exchange filings put his holding at 25.88 percent after the 30 July acquisition, the second purchase he made that month.
The stock closed at N137.00 on Wednesday, a 5.4 percent advance on the previous session, and began the year at N47.90. First HoldCo has gained more than 170 percent since January and ranks as the most actively traded equity on the exchange over the past three months. It overtook Zenith Bank in July to become Nigeria's most valuable listed banking group, and its market capitalisation crossed N6 trillion on 3 August.
Otedola has been building the position steadily. He took 680.8 million shares in June through a private placement priced at N44, below the market at the time, at a cost of about N29.6 billion. He added 706.13 million shares on 22 July for N77.58 billion, lifting his stake to 21.96 percent before the July 30 purchase took it past a quarter of the company.
The share price has moved well ahead of the group's recent earnings. First HoldCo reported revenue of N1.47 trillion for 2025, down 15.1 percent from N1.73 trillion the previous year, with earnings falling 80.2 percent to N132.68 billion after exceptional charges. First-quarter 2026 results pointed to a recovery, with interest income rising to N704.4 billion from N625.2 billion and operating profit climbing to N320 billion from N186.6 billion. Shareholders' equity stood at N3.4 trillion.
Shareholders approved a plan at the annual general meeting on 29 May to raise up to N253 billion, part of an ambition to reach N1 trillion in paid-up capital against the Central Bank of Nigeria's N500 billion minimum for banks with international authorisation.
Analyst opinion has not kept pace with the price. Three analysts tracked by data provider Stockanalysis carry an average 12-month target of N57.26 on the stock, less than half Thursday's level. The group reports next on 23 October.
Otedola became chairman of the holding company in January 2024 after emerging as its largest single shareholder, and has since used successive open-market and private-placement purchases to consolidate control. He built his fortune in fuel distribution through Zenon Petroleum and later in power generation, selling his stake in Geregu Power's parent structure and listing the generating company on the exchange in 2022.
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