Nigeria, July 22 -- Femi Otedola, the chair of First HoldCo Plc, procured 706.1 million new shares in the banking group on Wednesday, a market disclosure said, taking his interest in the corporation to 21.95 per cent.

The tycoon purchased the shares through Calvados Global Services Limited, his special purpose vehicle, in various deals worth N77.6 billion.

The latest share purchase puts him roughly one per cent away from catching up with RC Investment, the bridge holder currently holding the largest stake (22.94 per cent) in the company.

RC Investment, last July, emerged as the trustee for the 10.4 billion shares simultaneously offloaded by Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan-Odukale, two of First HoldCo's top shareholders at the time, in the c...