Femi Otedola, a multibillionaire businessman, claimed on Tuesday that his offer to pay N250 billion for the Nigerian giant Transnational Corporation Plc was turned down.
Weeks after acquiring interests in Transcorp and selling the shares, Otedola made several accusations against Tony Elumelu, the chairman of the company, in a statement to TheCable.
Otedola disclosed that the reason he purchased the company’s stock was because he thought the Group had the potential to reach a price of N2 trillion.
Otedola said, “I offered to buy Transcorp Plc for N250bn, but unfortunately, my offer was rejected. My goal was to maximise the company’s potential as a Nigerian conglomerate with a market cap of at least N2tn instead of the current N40bn, but it seems some shareholders have a different vision.
“As a businessman, I believe in healthy competition and market dynamics. Two captains cannot man a ship, and I respect the majority shareholder’s decision to buy me out. This is the nature of the game.”
Going back in time, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Transcorp, and the biggest shareholder of Geregu Power disclosed various commercial transactions.
He said, “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.”
He added that, “I became chairman of Transcorp Hotel in 2007 with a shareholding of five per cent and unknowingly, Tony gradually started buying shares quietly.
“By the following year in 2008, I went bankrupt in Nigeria. Tony proceeded to take my shares in UBA to service the interest on my loans and 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.”
He continued that, “Years later in 2012, Tony said he wanted to see me so we met in my office where I had previously had a meeting with foreign investors who had not yet departed the premises. Curious to know, he asked what sort of meeting I had had and I disclosed that I wanted to go into the power business, specifically Ughelli Power Plant. Tony quietly went ahead to bid for Ughelli and he outbidded me by offering to buy the plant for $300m.”
Otedola added that his offer to buy Transcorp was “made with the best intentions for Transcorp Plc and its shareholders. I saw an opportunity to unlock the company’s full potential and create value for everyone involved.
“It’s important for investors to understand that free entry and free exit are crucial to healthy markets. The scramble for shares after my acquisition is a testament to the value that Transcorp Plc can offer, and I hope the company continues to thrive under new leadership.”
Tony Elumelu, the chairman of Transcorp Group, was unable to comment on the situation as of the time of publication despite attempts to contact him.