Dr. Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director and co-founder of Access Holdings, has reportedly spent an estimated N14.5 billion on additional shares of the bank since April 2023. His stake in the bank is spread across various entities that hold direct shares in Access Holdings. Most recently, Wigwe’s Tengen Holdings (Mauritius) Limited acquired an additional 50 million shares worth N762.5 million in the company. This brings the total shareholdings for Tengen Holdings to 1.8 billion shares and Wigwe’s combined direct and indirect stake to 3.1 billion shares.
Wigwe has been steadily increasing his shareholdings since December, with the total amount of shares bought since April valued at about N14.25 billion. With this latest acquisition, Wigwe and his entities now hold about 8.8% of Access Holdings’ total shareholding structure, making them the bank’s single largest shareholder.
Access Holdings has seen positive financial performance, with growth in interest income, profits before tax, gross earnings, and profit after tax in the first quarter of 2023. The bank’s total assets also increased during this period. Access Holdings’ share price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has experienced significant gains since the beginning of the year, reflecting investor confidence.
Wigwe’s increased shareholdings align with a trend observed among billionaire shareholders of banks in Nigeria, with many consolidating their positions as major stakeholders.
