By Dickson Pat
Billionaire businessman and Chairman of United Bank for Africa ,UBA, Tony Elumelu, has made a significant investment in the financial institution, acquiring shares worth ₦43.91bn over a two-day period.
The transactions, disclosed in a regulatory filing submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Group ,NGX, by UBA’s Group Company Secretary, Bili Odum, took place between May 29 and May 30, 2025.
According to the filing, Elumelu purchased a total of 1,267,669,350 shares at an average price of ₦34.64 per share, reaffirming his commitment to the bank and its long-term prospects.
The acquisition includes 50 million shares bought at varying prices ranging from ₦34.55 to ₦34.75 and an additional 17,669,350 shares acquired at ₦34.70 per share.
In a related development, Heirs Holdings Limited, the pan-African investment conglomerate also chaired by Elumelu, increased its equity stake in UBA during the same period. A separate filing with the NGX revealed that Heirs Holdings acquired 45,034,044 ordinary shares between May 22 and May 23 at ₦34.30 per share, valued at ₦1.54bn.
The acquisition raised Heirs Holdings’ stake in UBA from 5.30 per cent to 5.43% solidifying its position as the only shareholder with more than a five per cent interest in the bank. Total shareholding now stands at 1,859,037,944 shares.
These transactions appear to have positively influenced investor sentiment, as trading activity on the NGX surged during the week of the announcement. On May 22, a total of 60.7 million UBA shares were exchanged, followed by 45.1 million shares on May 23. The bank’s stock also gained over 3%, closing at ₦34.45 on May 23.
The renewed investor confidence aligns with UBA’s strong financial performance in the first quarter of 2025. The bank reported a 30.65% year-on-year increase in profit before tax, reaching ₦204.2bn, driven largely by robust interest income.
Interest income rose by 36.09% to ₦599.8bn, with loans and advances to customers contributing ₦260.56bn—a 31% increase from Q1 2024. Income from investment securities also grew sharply by 44.96% to ₦291.8bn, while cash balances earned ₦47.42bn.
UBA’s non-interest income performance also remained strong, with ₦47.84bn generated from electronic banking , up 7.86%, ₦29.66bn from transaction fees, and ₦10.39bn from maintenance fees.
On the balance sheet, UBA reported continued growth in key metrics. Customer deposits rose by 4.43% to ₦22.8tn, while total assets grew by 4.58%, to ₦31.7tn as of March 31, 2025.
Elumelu’s increasing stake in UBA both personally and through Heirs Holdings—signals sustained confidence in the bank’s future trajectory and underscores the bank’s growing prominence within Africa’s financial services sector.
