Nigerian Businessman Tony Elumelu Makes $123million In 3 Weeks According To Forbes Africa

Forbes Africa has revealed the amount Nigerian
Businessman and former MD of United Bank for
Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu makes. According to the
reports, the chairman of Heirs Holdings made
$123million in just three weeks.
It's just paper gains, but it counts. Nigerian banker
Tony O. Elumelu has become at least $123 million
richer between November 1 and November 21 as
shares of Transcorp PLC, a Nigerian-Stock
Exchange-listed conglomerate, surged 186% in that
period.
Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria, usually
referred to as Transcorp, is an emerging
conglomerate holding investments in hotels, power
and agriculture. On November 1, the company's
stock was trading at N1.87 ($0.01), and at the close of
trading today (Thursday), the stock was trading at
N5.35 ($5.35). According to an analyst who did not
want to be quoted, there has been an
unprecedented demand for Transcorp's shares at
the bourse on account of the company's recent
acquisition of the Ughelli Power plant, a strategic
power generation company that the government
recently sold in a privatization exercise.
Transcorp PLC, under Elumelu's leadership,
acquired the plant for $300 million. Transcorp
officially took over the plant on November 1.
Investors are scrambling for the stock in
anticipation of the long-term impact the new
acquisition will likely have on Transcorp's financial
results.
Elumelu began gobbling up shares in the company
in April 2011 through his wholly-owned proprietary
investment vehicle, Heirs Holdings. In September
2011, he was appointed chairman of the company,
promising to diversify the company's business
interests and deliver value to shareholders -
promises he seems to have delivered on. He
currently owns over 5.7 billion shares of the
company (5,745,890,693 to be exact, according to
Transcorp's latest corporate filings), held in his own
name and via Heirs Holdings, equating to a 22.26%
stake, making him the company's largest individual
shareholder. His shares in Transcorp alone are now
valued at N30.7 billion or $188 million. A
representative for Elumelu could not be reached for
comment at press time.
Elumelu made his fortune by acquiring a small,
struggling Nigerian commercial bank and building it
into the United Bank of Africa Group, a leading
financial services institution with operations in
several African countries as well as in New York and
London. He stepped down as the bank's CEO in 2010
to focus on investing in African businesses through
his private investment vehicle, Heirs Holdings and to
groom Africa's next generation of business leaders
through his Tony Elumelu Foundation.


Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.