First Holdco Plunges by 10%, Free Float Shrinks, Otudeko Out
The non-operating company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FirstHoldco Plc, lost 10% of its market value due to negative trade actions over the last seven trading sessions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform.
Valued at N2 trillion, the non-operating holding company of First Bank of Nigeria’s profit for 2025 plunged by 93%, according to unaudited financials released on Friday.
The market is yet to fully price in the group’s weak earnings performance, stoked by 75% increase in impairment charges against expected credit losses for the year.
First Holdco share price declined to N45 in the stock market on Friday as about 5 million units worth N227 million were traded amidst a sharp drop in free float over 12 months.
Trading volume was moderate across sessions, but most of the transactions were led by sell-side actors who exited positions beforet he earnings announcement.
The non-operating holding company of First Bank was aggressively repriced late in 2025 following the announcement of Otedola’s additional share purchases.
Analysts think the bank’s market value is tracking ahead of its earnings performance, which suggests potential corrections.
“Think of it as investors placing bets based on predictions, or excitement before the actual “report card” comes out – one or two things will happen, they either overprice or underprice First Holdco”.
The banking group’s share price reached 52 weeks high of N55.30, a mile away from its 52-week low of N23.55. First Holdco’s share price has started pulling back, trading at about 19% discount to its highest valuation in the last one year.
First Holdco Plc.’s free float has plunged to 58.34% as of December 2025 due to some shareholding dilutions at the board level, from 79.46% in the equivalent period in 2024.
In its result, Femi Otedola, First Holdco chairman, has increased its shareholding to 18.12%, while Oba Otudeko is out as Barbican Capital Limited has totally exited positions, to avoid First Bank pressing charges on alleged fraud against its former chair.
Barbican Capital Limited divested its interest in FirstHoldco on July 16, 2025, and sold the entire 8.67% interest amidst boardroom tussles among vested interests – the core reason that ranked FirstHoldco lower on key man risk ratings.
Otedola stake surged to 18.12% from 11.80% in 2024, while Otudeko has now been replaced by RC Investment with the highest shareholding to 23.47% at the close of 2025.
RC Investment was incorporated in 2024, and it became the largest shareholder in First Bank Holding in July 2025 with 10.43 billion shares acquired, valued at N323.45 billion.
RC is a special purpose vehicle/trustee in a deal sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria in a 7.787 billion shares sales from Barbican Capital (linked to Oba Otudeko) and 2.647 billion shares from Leadway entities (linked to Tunde Hassan-Odukale).
With this, Otudeko is out of the hook, but it costs the erstwhile First Holdco chairman its investment interest in the financial institution that has served the nation for over a century.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Otudeko, and former First Bank Managing Director, Olabisi Onasanya, before a Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N12.3 billion fraud on January 20, 2025.
Otudeko and Onasanya were to face charges alongside former Honeywell board member, Soji Akintayo, and Anchorage Leisure Limited, another company linked to Otudeko.
The EFCC alleged that between 2013 and 2014, the defendants orchestrated fraudulent transactions totaling N12.3 billion, involving amounts of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.15 billion, N1.5 billion, and N500 million through fraudulent credit facilities.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences contravene Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act 2006 and are punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
First Bank withdrew the fraud allegation case against Otudeko after an agreement to sell down shareholding and kiss the boardroom goodbye, raising questions about the group governance policy and structure.
Market observers are now watching how investors will react to the significant earnings plunge in 2025, amidst a tight performance outlook in the banking sector. CBN Rejects N4.9 Trillion in OMO Bills Subscription
