Femi Otedola, a Nigerian businessman, has stated that the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria’s (Transcorp) potential must be unlocked in order to maximize shareholder value.
In a statement, Mr. Otedola revealed the information, marking his first public engagement in the current conflict over Transcorp’s future. He was replying to persistent questions from PREMIUM TIMES on the reasons behind his actions in the Transcorp transaction.
“I offered to buy Transcorp Plc for N250 billion, but unfortunately, my offer was rejected,” Mr Otedola said.
The billionaire just ended the competition for control of the organization by selling Mr. Elumelu his freshly acquired stake in Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp).
Mr. Otedola sold Mr. Elumelu his sizeable 6.3% stake in the company, which consisted of 2.6 billion shares acquired in various deals.
Previously, Mr. Elumelu had increased his investment from 2.07 to 25.9 percent just days after acquiring a sizable shareholding.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Mr. Otedola’s attempt to assume the highest position in the conglomerate’s ownership enraged the Transcorp chair, who then initiated negotiations. Ultimately, he consented to pay the businessman millions of dollars in damages, according to reports.
In his most recent statement, Mr. Otedola recounted how he “enthusiastically gave him (Mr. Elumelu) $ 20 million, which was N2 billion at that time” to purchase the requisite shares for the acquisition of UBA in 2005.
The businessman further claimed that Mr. Elumelu had previously stabbed him many times in the back.
He said that after informing Mr. Elumelu of his interest in purchasing the Ughelli Power project in 2012, the chair of Transcorp “quietly went ahead” to outbid him for the project.
