The fear of being caught unawares in Nigeria’s bullish corporate world, seems to be the beginning of wisdom for Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Holdings Plc.
Having watched with keen interest, how billionaire investor, Femi Otedola caught banker and economist, Tony Elumelu napping in an unsuccessful attempt to take over the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, TRANSCORP, where the latter is chairman, Wigwe has decided not to leave anything to chance and has followed in Elumelu’s steps to tighten his grip on Access Holdings.
The banker, who recently unveiled his private university in Rivers State, has begun the acquisition of more shares in Access Bank. He began a few months ago using his private company, Tengen Holdings (Mauritius) Limited.
His stake is spread across several entities that hold direct shares in Access Holdings.
First, he purchased about 1.13 billion units in April. Then in May, he acquired additional 150 million shares worth N1.49 billion, which represents 0.43 per cent of the company’s total outstanding shares.
Again he has consolidated his position as Access Holdings Plc majority shareholder with an additional acquisition of 50 million shares acquired at N15.25 per share, valued at N762.5m. The 50 million shares represent 0.14 per cent of the company’s total outstanding shares and it takes the total shareholdings for Tengen Holdings to 1.8 billion and Wigwe’s direct and indirect stake to 3.1 billion shares.
Thus, Wigwe and his affiliates, one of who is a former MD/CEO and co-founder of Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, with whom he acquired the bank in 2002, now own 8.8 per cent of the bank’s shares.
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