Otedola completes sale of Forte Oil, deal lifts share price by 10%

Barely one week after the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), endorsed the transfer of the 75 per cent majority equity in Forte oil, from its Chairman to Prudent Energy and Services Limited, in a share purchase deal, Femi Otedola yesterday, completed his divestment after receiving full payment for the sale to Prudent Energy.

With the development, Otedola appears to now focus on his power assets, Geregu Power Plant, which was not part of the deal. Forte Oil will now concentrate only on downstream and upstream operations under its new ownership.

The deal pushed the volume of shares and share price of Forte Oil at the close of transactions Wednesday, and sold N64.38 billion, as a total of 970.17 units were traded as off market trade.

The company share price opened at N32.30 per share up from its last week opening price of N25.75, signalling a 24.44 per cent rise, an equivalent of N8.53 billion capital gains. At the close of trading, Forte oil emerged among the day’s highest price gainer with 10.00 per cent to close at N34.65 per share.

According to TRW Stockbrokers Limited, these deals were negotiated between StanbicIBTC Stockbrokers as buyer; while APT Securities and Funds Limited, WSTC Securities and Quantum Zenith Securities were sellers. Forte Oil market capitalisation was N45 billion as the conclusion of the sale was announced.

Otedola had in May 2018, obtained shareholders’ nod to divest the group’s upstream services and power generating businesses including downstream businesses in Ghana, in a move aimed at concentrating Forte Oil’s operations on its Nigeria’s downstream marketing business.

Forte Oil, however, informed the NSE of the completion of this transaction and other plans to sell some of its other subsidiaries.

During this period, the company went through due diligence and other regulatory approvals subject to the conclusion of the transaction.