Billionaire businessman and the Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, Femi Otedola has reunited with his old friend and Chairman of Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu two years after a tussle for the ownership of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) led both billionaires to part ways......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
On Friday, Otedola shared the pictures of him and Elumelu in Dubai for the first time since 2023 when he accused the Heirs Holding boss of stabbing him in the back a number of times in the past.
In the surprise post seen by THE WHISTLER, Otedola addressed Elumelu as his “Friend”, signaling an end to the feud.
“It was a pleasure to host my good friend “African Pride”, @TonyOElumelu at my Dubai residence last night.
“Building bridges, sharing visions, and celebrating excellence!” Otedola shared on X.
Back in May 2023, Otedola divested his 6.3 per cent or 2.6 billion share acquired in Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) to Mr Elumelu.
Otedola’s sold the share because Elumelu who was the company was upset as his position as the Transcorp Chairman was threatened.
Elumelu who is also the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) immediately increased his interest in Transcorp from 2.07 to 25.9 per cent as Otedola’s share acquisition in the company threatened his position.
Elumelu-controlled Transcorp summoned and emergency meeting and later offered to buy-off Otedola’s newly acquired stake in the company.
Otedula claimed he had offered to buy Transcorp Plc for N250bn with the goal to maximize the company’s potential as a Nigerian conglomerate with a market capitalization of at least N2tn instead of the current N40bn as of 2023.
After the drama, Otedola responded by releasing a statement where he narrated how Elumelu allegedly betrayed him in the past including taking UBA and Transcorp Hotel from him.
Otedola narrated that in “2005, while Tony was the Managing Director of Standard Trust Bank, he approached me to get funds to acquire UBA. I enthusiastically gave him $20m, which was N2bn at that time to buy the necessary shares in UBA for the acquisition.
“After a short period of time, the share price moved up, and I decided it was a good moment to sell and get out of the bank. However, Tony appealed to me to hold on to the shares as he was convinced that there were future prospects – so I kept the shares.
“I became Chairman of Transcorp Hotel in 2007 with a shareholding of five per cent and unknowingly, Tony gradually started buying shares quietly.”
Otedola said by the following year in 2008 he went bankrupt in Nigeria while Elumelu proceeded to use his shares in UBA to service the interest on his loans.
Otedola said, “He also took over my shares in Africa Finance Corporation, where I was the largest shareholder.
“Shortly after, Albert Okumagba informed me that an American firm wanted to acquire my shares in Transcorp, which I then agreed to sell. However, this supposed American firm turned out to be Tony Elumelu. The revelation of this prompted me to resign as Chairman of the hotel.”
The FBNH boss said Elumelu quietly bought over Ughelli Power Plant for $300m, an idea he claimed Elumelu stole from him.