Since May 28, 2024, the Mauritian-incorporated company, Tengen Holdings (Mauritius) Limited, has acquired approximately 59.403 million shares of Access Holdings, valued at roughly N1.012 billion.
According to corporate disclosures on the NGX website, Tengen Holdings initially purchased 45 million units of shares at N17 per share on May 28.
The company then purchased an additional 14,402,633 units at N17.20 per share on May 30.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the Non-Executive Chairman of Access Holdings Plc and Herbert Wigwe jointly founded Tengen Holdings in December 2013, after Aig-Imoukhuede’s exit as the CEO of Access Bank.
Before his demise, Access Holdings’ Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe was the largest individual shareholder of the group with a 3.72% shareholding in the group. While the erstwhile CEO, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede held no direct shareholding in the group.
The second largest substantial shareholder in the group, following Stanbic Nominees, is “Coronation Trustees Tengen Mauritius”. This entity, associated with Tengen Holdings (Mauritius) Limited, holds a 7.11% stake acquired in 2023.
Tengen (Holdings) Limited is a part of the Tengen Family Office, co-owned by both Herbert Wigwe and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the partners who took over Access Bank in 2002.
According to a directory of Nigerian companies, Tengen Family Office was incorporated in Nigeria in 2017, with Herbert Wigwe and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede identified as the shareholders in the company.
Since the demise of Herbert Wigwe, Access Holdings has undergone leadership changes, with Ms. Bolaji Agbede stepping in as the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede stepping in as the group’s Chairman.
In Q1 2024, Access Bank posted a 148% year-on-year growth in pre-tax profit to N202.7 billion, from N81.7 billion as of Q1 2023. The group’s net income within the period hit N159.3 billion, marking a 123% YoY growth from the N71.8 billion net income posted in 2023.
Less than two months after Wigwe’s departure, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced new minimum capital requirements for banks, thereby imposing the responsibility of recapitalization on Access Bank’s new leadership.
Access Bank needs to raise at least N248.2 billion in new capital to meet up with the N500 billion capital requirement before March 2026.
During the institution’s Annual General Meeting in April, the shareholders approved the bank’s move to issue 30 billion new shares.
As one of his first tasks upon returning to leadership, Aig spoke nostalgically about his experience as Group CEO of Access Bank Plc during the last recapitalization exercise.
He noted during the AGM, “The amount we have mentioned today, is large and significant, and the capital raising efforts we’re pursuing is a significant step in your company’s history and future.”
“However, I’d like to remind shareholders that between August 2004 and 2007, you may recall that cumulatively, in a period of two and half years, we raised $2 billion in equity together. So, it is not new for us to come to you like this and for us together to succeed in such capital raising effort.”
