"Same Thing He Did at Transcorp": Dangote Playfully Invites Otedola to Take Over Dangote Cement
- Dangote, in a joke during an event, has given Otedola the greenlight to carry out a potential Dangote Cement takeover
- The billionaire's joke follows Otedola's history of majority share acquisitions in companies like Transcorp and First Bank of Nigeria.
- Otedola recently acquired a significant amount of shares in Dangote Cement due to the huge potential of the company
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Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.
Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Group, has teased his close friend and fellow billionaire entrepreneur, Femi Otedola, saying he is free to consider exploring a corporate takeover of Dangote Cement.
Dangote said this on Friday, January 26, 2024, at the Dangote Cement customers appreciation event in Lagos.
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It would be recalled that Otedola recently acquired a significant amount of shares in Dangote Cement, describing his decision as an ideal investment choice with the potential to generate foreign exchange for the country.
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According to Punch, during the event, Dangote introduced and welcomed Otedola as the newest shareholder of the giant cement company.
Dangote then added:
“There are people who fear that he is going to do the same thing he did at Transcorp; I say he’s welcome.”
Otedola has a history of corporate takeovers from significant share acquisitions that have generated a lot of controversies in the news.
His dealings with Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) and First Bank of Nigeria are a few examples.
Otedola's acquisition of majority shares in First Bank
In 2022, Femi Otedola attracted significant attention when an audit of First Bank's accounts for the fiscal year ending in December 2021 confirmed that he possessed 2,717,282,140 shares, equivalent to 7.57% ownership of the bank, making him its largest individual shareholder with more than 5% ownership.
This revelation followed a prolonged boardroom dispute over the ownership of the company's major shares, leading to confusion and a series of press releases by the bank.
The situation became so complex that the Nigerian Exchange had to intervene to clarify the issues.
Later, in 2022, Otedola and his affiliated entities decided to sell approximately 834,939,764.00 units of shares, constituting about 30% of his total shareholdings in the bank's holding company.
Consequently, his shareholding was reduced from around 7.57% to approximately 5.57%. This sale marked another significant event in the evolving ownership dynamics of the bank.
Otedola acquires and sells Transcorp shares
In April of 2023, Otedola secured 2.6 billion shares or a 6.3% stake in Transcorp Plc, becoming the second-largest shareholder in the company.
His position followed that of United Bank for Africa nominees, who held approximately 9.25% of the company's shares as of December 2022.
At first, Otedola announced the acquisition with excitement, expressing his belief in the potential of Transcorp, but later sold off the shares due to a rivalry with Tony Elumelu, the company's founder.
Dangote Cement reaches N10 trillion market capitalisation
In a landmark achievement this week, Dangote Cement secured its position as the first listed company to surpass a market capitalisation of N10 trillion.
Closing the trading week on Friday, January 26, at N11.827 trillion, its securities were valued at N694.1 each.
Aliko Dangote maintains significant control, holding approximately 85% of Dangote Cement.
Dangote and Otedola display "big man dance"
In related news, Legit.ng reported that Dangote and Otedola brought high-brow spectacle to the timelines with a recent video.
The sensational clip saw the two men dancing to the music one of their colleagues was singing to with a microphone at an event.
The billionaires danced and clapped like jolly good fellows to the rhythm of the classical beats.
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Source: Legit.ng
