- N283m shares acquired one day
BY FESTUS OKOROMADU
The chairman of board of directors of United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, seems to have decided to take a firm grip on the bank by strategically positioning the directors of the bank as shareholders.
Notification given by the bank to the Nigerian Exchange Limited on insider-related transactions revealed that a total 32,508,400 ordinary shares of the bank were acquired by family members of the chairman, his company Heirs Holdings and an executive director, Alex Alozie in a single day.
UBA group secretary/legal counsel, Bili Odum, in a separate notice to the NGX on May 25, 2023 disclosed that various share purchase transactions took place on the floor of the Exchange on May 24, 2023.
Details of the transactions as stated by the company secretary showed that Alex Alozie, Executive Director of the bank, purchased 2,700,000 ordinary shares of UBA at N8.70 on May 24, 2023.
Another notice signed by the legal counsel to the bank, stated that HH Capital Limited, a company founded by Tony Elumelu purchased 438,220 shares at N8.50 per share and 18,900,000 shares at NGN8.70 per share.
The report puts the total volume as 19,338,220 while the aggregated price of the shares was said to be N8.60 per share.
Elumelu family members also bought the bank’s shares on May 24, 2023.
Odum disclosed that Awele Vivien Elumelu, identified as a relative to the board chairman, acquired 1,763,359 ordinary shares of the bank at N8.70 per share the same day.
Nneka Elumelu, relative to board chairman also purchased 2,090,154 shares of the bank at N8.70 while another relative, Ogechukwu Elumelu, purchased 2,294,675 ordinary shares of UBA at N8.70.
Other relatives are Ogochukwu Elumelu, who acquired 2,160,451 ordinary shares of the bank at N8.70; Onyinye Elumelu, reported to have bought 2,070,366 shares at N8.70 per share, and Onyekachukwu Elumelu, who purchased 91,175 ordinary shares at N8.70 same day.
An estimate of the Elumelu’s family acquisition in one day amounted to about N283 million.
Although the bank did not state any reason for the sudden interest in Elumelu’s family buying into the bank, market pundits have alleged that the fear of a repeat of what happened at Transnational Corporation Plc, where Femi Otedola emerged the largest owner overnight could have warranted the move.
The Point recalls that Otedola, owner of Geregu Power Plc, also emerged the single largest shareholder in FBN Holdings without any prior notice to the existing shareholders of the Holding company.
