According to an Entrepreneurng report, the acquisition of 6.3% of Transnational Corporation Plc, or Transcorp, by billionaire businessman Femi Otedola recently has garnered media attention and elevated him to the position of second-largest stakeholder.
As they compete for control of the ownership interest in Transcorp, the development has stirred up the Nigerian financial market and sparked debate about the friendship between Otedola and his friend Tony Elumelu.
The group chairman of Tanscorp, Tony Elumelu, expressed happiness that his friend is investing in the company, despite the worries that Otedola’s purchase of 6.3% of Transcorp’s shares would lead to a takeover due to his past.
Otedola was referred to be Elumelu’s “very good friend” in the interview with Arise on Thursday. Elumelu expressed excitement about working with Otedola at Transcorp.
The degree of our connection is evident by the fact that Elumelu only follows my wife and Femi Otedola on Instagram; he is a man I respect and admire as a friend.We identify as brothers. I appreciate Femi’s involvement in Transcorp; it is what we want, he remarked (I call him FO, or Ote-dollar), adding, “People get sentimental and emotional sometimes for no reason.”
Even if both men are involved in the electricity industry, Elumelu asserted, “there’s nothing improper with that since there can be crossholding.What do we do when we travel on international road shows abroad or even in Nigeria?
We invite potential investors to invest in our businesses. I’m pleased to see a native investment community in action.Femi should be applauded for investing locally, and I’m glad he did.
I also appreciate his investment in Transcorp, as the more people who care about the business’ operations and success and who put money into it, the better it will be for us shareholders.
“You want to toast the shareholders of your stock, and I’m delighted that Transcorp has done so.” Before they took over Transcorp about ten years ago, he continued, “even those who owned shares of Transcorp could not find their certificates because they lost confidence in the company.”
Transcorp has now continuously paid dividends for five years under our direction. The company has seen capital growth. As a result, when friends and the investing public decide to invest in a company like this, it serves as confirmation that your narrative, vision, management, leadership, and competency are shared by them.
However, that has been demonstrated, and I appreciate my friend joining me in this endeavor. I also appreciate his support, and I look forward to working with him to advance Transcorp. The power sector is a gold mine, so I’m glad my friend, who invested in Transcorp, is also involved in it.
“On Arise TV’s What’s Trending With Ojy Okpe, Okpe commented, “I really liked that comment by Tony Elumelu because a lot of people had been commenting on social media basically regarding their relationship.”
Okpe was discussing the story about the two friends. Okpe continued by saying that Femi Otedola was the kind of person who could make anything he touched into pure gold. Because of his investment, Transcorp is receiving more attention.
“He’s been known for his hostile (that’s how some describe him) takeover in the corporate world, and I think that because Otedola had done that deal with First Bank, and the way he took over First Bank, a lot of people thought he wants to go into Transcorp to take over,” said the woman.”
“Dr. Reuben Abati interjected and stated, “With Otedola’s investment, the share value of Transcorp has gone up and there are more possibilities hence, Mr. Tony Elumelu said all the right things.”
As Dr. Abati noted, “He did it with First Bank Plc. where Hebe amen was the largest single individual shareholder, moved to Geregu the power plant where he has 90% of the shares and now, to Transcorp where he is largest single individual shareholder.”
In conclusion, Dr. Abati would prefer to regard Otedola as an activist investor than a hostile investor, as Okpe had previously described him.
