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Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, the chairman of lender First HoldCo Plc, is buying shares in Dangote Cement Plc again and is aiming to build a stake of as much as 5%, according to people familiar with the matter.
Dangote Cement, Africa's biggest cement maker and the flagship of Aliko Dangote's industrial group, rose by the daily limit of 10% on Friday to close at N1,111 on the Nigerian Exchange. The gain added about N1.7 trillion ($1.28 billion) to the company's market value, which now stands at about N18.7 trillion ($14 billion).
Otedola has cash to deploy and is taking positions in companies he considers undervalued, the people said. The size of his purchases so far has not been disclosed, and buyers in individual trades on the exchange are not routinely made public.
A tight float
Dangote Industries Ltd., the holding company controlled by Africa's richest man, owned 86.65% of Dangote Cement at the end of 2025, leaving less than 10% of the shares in free float, so a 5% stake would amount to about half of the stock available to outside investors. A holding of that size would be worth about N936 billion ($702 million) at Friday's closing price.
The stock has climbed about 82% this year from N609 at the start of January. It peaked near N1,180 in June, slipped below N900 during a later pullback and has since recovered above N1,100.
Friday's rally in Dangote Cement and First HoldCo, which also jumped 10%, helped lift the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index 0.92% to 247,222.27 points. The market's total value rose by about N1.47 trillion to N160.52 trillion ($120 billion).
His first Dangote Cement bet
Otedola first disclosed a significant investment in Dangote Cement in January 2024, when the shares traded at about N350. At the time, he said he was focused on long-term wealth preservation and pointed to the company's export potential.
"Dangote Cement's unique position with two export terminals offers a substantial opportunity to earn foreign exchange," he said in a statement then. He also praised the company's dividend record, which he put at more than N2.1 trillion in recent years, and its corporate governance.
The shares have more than tripled since then.
A $1.3 billion First HoldCo stake
The return to Dangote Cement comes as Otedola's main holding keeps rising. First HoldCo, the parent of First Bank of Nigeria, gained N13.10 on Friday to close at N144.10. Otedola owns about 12.15 billion First HoldCo shares, or roughly 26.7% of the company, through direct holdings and companies including Calvados Global Services Ltd., which bought about 2.87 billion shares between July and August.
At Friday's price, that holding is worth about N1.75 trillion ($1.31 billion). The day's 10% rise added about N159 billion ($119 million) to its value.
"To date, I have invested over N600 billion of my personal wealth in First Holdco Plc," Otedola said in August, adding that his investment threshold is "always over and above 51 per cent."
Otedola, who built his fortune in fuel distribution and power generation, also controls Geregu Power Plc, a listed electricity producer. He ranked among Africa's billionaires in March with a net worth estimated at $1.3 billion, a figure that has since grown with the rally in First HoldCo shares.
Dangote Cement has plants in Nigeria and several other African countries, and its parent group also runs the Dangote Petroleum Refinery near Lagos.
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