Ukpono Anietie, PH
Femi Otedola, a prominent billionaire businessman, has recently divested his stakes in Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp), Nigeria’s leading conglomerate with investments in the hospitality, power, and oil & gas sectors.
After a prolonged corporate battle for ownership of Nigeria’s top conglomerate, Aliko Dangote, who is a mutual friend to both parties involved, intervened and put an end to the intriguing drama, sources confirmed.
The sources also confirmed that Otedola sold his shares to Tony Elumelu, Transcorp’s current chairman, in a friendly deal that was completed using the company’s closing price on Thursday.
Both parties used an options contract for the transaction, and Elumelu committed to making multiple payments to Otedola over a period of time.
This news comes just weeks after Otedola had increased his interest in Transcorp to 6.3%, making him the majority shareholder of the company.
Two weeks ago, Otedola acquired approximately 5.52% shares of Transcorp through a deal executed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited at the close of trading.
The deal involved about 1.5 billion units of Transcorp shares, worth N2.1 billion.
The news has sent shockwaves across the Nigerian business community, with many investors and analysts closely monitoring the situation to see how it will impact Transcorp’s future performance.
At the same time, many are praising the amicable and collaborative nature of the deal, with both Otedola and Elumelu committing to working together to advance Transcorp’s objectives.
