Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc disclosed that Seven Degrees North Limited, a private investment firm linked to CEO Yemi Odubiyi, acquired shares worth N578.1 million.
According to the disclosure filed on the Nigerian Exchange, a total of 82 million ordinary shares were purchased at N7.05 per share on the NGX trading platform in Lagos.
The transaction, identified with the code NGSTERLNHCO9, was executed in two tranches on 24 December and 29 December 2025.
The first tranche involved the purchase of 62 million shares, while the second tranche comprised 20 million shares, both at the same price of N7.05 per share.
Based on the company’s nine-month 2025 financial statements released in late October 2025, Mr. Yemi Odubiyi had no indirect shareholding at the time.
That has now changed, as he now holds 82,000,000 indirect units through Seven Degrees North Limited.
His direct shareholding also increased significantly, rising from 376,417,493 units in December 2024 to 729,420,773 units by September 2025.
- In total, Mr. Odubiyi now controls 811,420,773 units, representing a 1.56% stake, based on the company’s outstanding share capital of 52.1 billion units on the Nigerian Exchange.
- So far, the chairman, Mr. Adeyemi Adeola, remains the board member with the highest stake, holding 12,256,865,434 units, equivalent to 23.52%.
The 82,000,000-unit acquisition was made at N7.05 per share, a dip that could appeal to value-focused investors.
Market trend
Sterling has delivered over 25% return to investors this year, rising from an opening price of N5.60 at the start of the year to N7.05 as of the final trading day of 2025.
The stock began the year on a positive note, closing January in the green with a 3.57% gain from N5.60 to N5.80.
This was followed by a mild pullback that lasted until April, during which the share price dipped to N5.40.
From May, positive price momentum strengthened, lifting the stock to N5.70 by the end of June and resulting in a modest first-half gain of 1.79%.
The second half of the year accounted for the bulk of the annual gains.
- July recorded a sharp 22.81% rally, followed by an 11.43% increase in August, pushing the share price to a peak of N7.80.
From September onward, the stock entered a retracement phase. As of 31 December 2025, Sterling’s shares are trading at N7.05.
For the nine-month period, profit before tax surged 141% year on year to N70.96 billion, up from N29.4 billion.
A key driver of this performance was stronger interest income, which grew by 38.73% to N262.4 billion from N189.1 billion.
- Loans and advances to customers accounted for a significant portion of this, contributing about N175 billion.
After interest expenses of N119.3 billion, net interest income stood at N143 billion.
This was complemented by N35.8 billion in net fees and commission income, net trading income of N22.7 billion, and other income of N20.5 billion, bringing operating income to N222.2 billion, representing a 57.69% increase.
- After accounting for impairment charges, operating income settled at N214.2 billion.
On the balance sheet, total assets expanded from N3.5 trillion to N4.0 trillion, while retained earnings rose 62% to N102.1 billion.
