Nigerian businessman and billionaire, Femi Otedola, claimed that his offer to purchase Transnational Corporation Plc, a Nigerian conglomerate, for N250bn was turned down.
Otedola made this claim while making allegations against the Chairman of Transcorp, Tony Elumelu.
This came weeks after Otedola had acquired and subsequently sold stakes in Transcorp.
Otedola revealed that he had initially purchased shares in the organization because he believed in its potential to reach a valuation of N2tn.
In his statement, he stated, “My goal was to maximize 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.”
Otedola also shared some past business dealings between himself and Tony Elumelu. He claimed to have given Elumelu $20m in 2005 to acquire necessary shares in UBA to facilitate the acquisition of the bank, and that after he went bankrupt in Nigeria, Elumelu took over his shares in UBA, Africa Finance Corporation, and Transcorp Hotel.
Otedola went on to state that he resigned as Chairman of Transcorp Hotel after discovering that an American firm interested in his shares was actually Elumelu bidding under a false identity.
In conclusion, Otedola stated that his offer to buy Transcorp was made in the best interests of the company and its shareholders, and that he hoped the company would continue to flourish under new leadership.
As of press time, there has been no response from the Chairman of Transcorp, Tony Elumelu.