Femi Otedola, a billionaire businessman, has revealed that his offer to buy Nigerian conglomerate Transcorp Corporation for N250bn was rejected.
Otedola invested in Transcorp because he believed the business may grow to be worth N2 trillion. He stated he made the offer in order to maximize the company's potential as a Nigerian conglomerate with a market cap of at least N2tn rather than the current N40bn.
In addition, Otedola shared details about some of his past business dealings with Transcorp Chairman Tony Elumelu. He disclosed that he had provided funds to Elumelu to purchase shares in UBA, and Elumelu convinced him to hold onto the shares, which eventually led to Otedola becoming a shareholder in Transcorp Hotel. However, Otedola later sold his shares in Transcorp to Elumelu.
Otedola also provided some background on his past business dealings with Tony Elumelu, The Chairman of Transcorp, including investments in UBA and Africa Finance Corporation, and an unsuccessful bid for the Ughelli Power Plant.
Otedola express his belief in healthy competition and market dynamics and lamented that Nigerian company stakeholders were being shortchanged by owners and managers.
