March 29, 2024

Battle for control of Transcorp Plc rages on, as Elumelu’s HH Capital announces acquisition of 25.58%

 

Oredola Adeola

The fight of the titans for the soul of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp) between Tony Elumelu and Femi Otedola rages on with heightened ferocity as Elumelu has upped the ante in what looks like a game of thrones between the two business moguls.

 

In his latest letter to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the investing public, Elumelu notified the concerned stakeholders and the public of the acquisition of 9,697,189,984 units of shares, bringing their total holdings in Transcorp to 9,991,173,177 units, representing 25.58% of the Company’s total shares.

 

This was disclosed in a press statement released by HH Capital Limited, and obtained by EnergyDay on Thursday.

 

EnergyDay’s check showed that HH Capital is a company (Special Purpose Vehicle) that Elumelu controls with board room gurus including Obinna Ufudo (former MD/CEO of Transcorp Plc), including Elumelu’s wife, Awele Vivien Elumelu and others.

 

HH Capital in the release said as of April 25, 2023, it acquired 9,697,189,984 units of shares, upscaling its total stake in Transcorp to 9,991,173,177 units, representing 25.58% of the Company’s total shares.

 

The statement said, “In compliance with Chapter 17, Rule 17.13 of the NGX Issuers Rules, Transnational Corporation Plc (the Company) hereby informs the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the investing public of the below new acquisition of shares in the Company.

 

“With this new acquisition, HH Capital Limited now holds a total of 9,991,173,177 units, representing 25.58% of the Company’s total shares.”

 

As of the time of filing this report, Femi Otedola, the billionaire Chairman of Geregu Power Plc controls 2.6 billion shares, representing a 6.3 percent stake in the conglomerate.

 

Transcorp Group, which consists of Transcorp Power Ltd, TransAfam Power Ltd, Transcorp Hotels Plc, and Transcorp Energy Ltd, acquired the 972MW gas-fired Ughelli Power Plant, in 2013.

With a massive transformation of the power asset, the group invested about $300 million to acquire Afam Power Plant Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited, with an installed capacity of almost 2,000MW.

 

In January 2023, the company confirmed the upgrade of the plants from 48MW average generation in 2021 to 120 MW generation.

 

It has also shown investment interest in nuclear power plants, consolidating its stake in Nigeria’s power sector.

 

The conglomerate had through that investment demonstrated its long-term strategy towards delivering robust electricity supply to address Nigeria’s energy needs as well as the growing demand in the region.

 

Transcorp in its oil & gas investment owns OPL 281 (formerly OML44 when operated by Shell) and OML17 from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, and ENI.