Nigerian financier Wole Abegunde now controls $61 million stake in fintech firm eTranzact

Wole Abegunde, the Nigerian stockbroker who has chaired payments company eTranzact International Plc since 2018, is among the beneficial owners of a little-known firm that has just taken majority control of the listed fintech, a stake now worth about N81.4 billion ($61.1 million), according to corporate records cited by Nigerian tech publication Condia.

eTranzact said in a filing with the Nigerian Exchange on October 13 that Access Bank Plc, Meristem Trustees Ltd., acting as trustee for Accelerex Holdings, and eTranzact Global Ltd. had transferred 5,168,921,170 ordinary shares, or 56.18% of the company, to Trademarks Global Concepts Ltd. The company did not disclose the price.

Following the transaction, five directors left the board and five new ones joined. The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the appointments, the company said.

Who is behind the buyer

Trademarks Global Concepts has no public website, press office or consumer brand, Condia reported on October 14. The publication said the company was incorporated on August 28, 2012, is registered as a general merchant and trader, and lists a registered office in Yagba, Kogi State. Its directors, according to corporate records cited by Condia, are Oluwole Abegunde, Abisola Abegunde, Oluwasepe Abegunde and Ayinoluwa Abegunde. Public records give limited information on who ultimately owns the company, Condia said, and the purchase was described as funded through "private investment capital and strategic corporate funding."

Abegunde ran Meristem Securities Ltd. as group managing director and chief executive until November 2024, according to MarketScreener data. He was elected chairman of eTranzact in January 2018, succeeding Felix Ohiwerei, Nairametrics reported at the time. A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, he has also served on the council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and as a director of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc and Eterna Plc.

eTranzact's 2024 annual report showed Abegunde with an indirect holding of 324.7 million shares, or 3.53%, through Meristem Securities.

eTranzact's statement did not name Abegunde in connection with the buyer, and Billionaires.Africa could not find a public statement from him on the transaction.

Access Bank exits

The sale ends Access Bank's years-long involvement in the company. The lender, a unit of Access Holdings, held 37.56% of eTranzact at the end of 2024, according to the fintech's annual report, after raising its stake from 23.8% in 2021. Accelerex Holdings held 11.15%. Both have now sold out entirely, Nairametrics reported. Access Bank decided to exit in 2025, according to Condia, and has not publicly said why.

eTranzact Global, the founding shareholder of the company founded by Valentine Obi, which began operating in 2003, held 22.5% at the end of 2024. It sold part of its holding in the deal and MarketScreener data now show it with about 15%.

The departing directors are Chuma Ajene, Benjamin Dabra, Afolabi Oladele, Binta Max-Gbinije and retired Major General Emeka Onwuamaegbu. The new non-executive directors are Akinwunmi Akinfemiwa, Olatunde Akande and Doron Grupper, while Omobola Hollist and Mustapha Ajenifuja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, join as independent non-executive directors.

Akinfemiwa is the best known of the newcomers. He is a non-executive director of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. and previously served as managing director of power producer Geregu Power Plc and as group chief executive of fuel marketer Forte Oil Plc, according to Nairametrics.

What the stake is worth

eTranzact has about 9.2 billion shares in issue. The stock traded at N15.75 early on October 15, giving the company a market value of about N144.9 billion ($108.8 million) and putting the 56.18% block held by Trademarks Global Concepts at about N81.4 billion ($61.1 million). The price Trademarks paid for the shares has not been disclosed.

The shares have risen almost 32% since September 10, when they closed at N11.95.

The business is growing. eTranzact, one of Nigeria's earliest mobile and electronic payment switches, reported revenue of N16.28 billion ($12.2 million) for the first half of 2026, up 22.6% from a year earlier. In 2024, it earned a profit after tax of N3.39 billion ($2.5 million) on revenue of N29.9 billion ($22.5 million).