Nigeria, July 17 -- Two of the top shareholders of First HoldCo Plc, Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan-Odukale, have offloaded their stakes in the financial services group, easing the path for Femi Otedola, its chair and biggest shareholder, to firm up his holding in the entity.

A total of 10.43 billion shares, equivalent to nearly 25 per cent of the group's outstanding shares, were traded off-market in 17 negotiated deals on Wednesday at N31, a source told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday.

Shares in First HoldCo accelerated by 9.9 per cent to N32.2 per unit, emerging as the day's 6th best-performing stock on the bourse in Lagos.

That is its best outing since 17 February, helping the market valuation of the stock to rise past N1.3 trillion.

"Immediate...