Jim Ovia, Zenith Bank’s chairman, and Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the lender’s Group Managing Director, have strengthened their grip on the company with a new investment of N285,528,478.

Brand Spur Nigeria reports that their investment comes amid a -3.57 percent drop in Zenith Bank’s year-to-date share value, reflecting a reversal in shareholders’ investment as the capital market’s confidence in the lender remains low – considering its -2.21 percent drop between January 2021 and Monday, May 9, 2022.

With investors wary about Zenith Bank and uncertain development prospects, the investment from Ovia and Onyeagwu could be interpreted as management’s attempt to persuade pessimistic investors to change their minds.


Through his investment company, Quantum Zenity Securities & Investment Limited, Ovia, who holds the largest individual and institutional investments in Zenith Bank, purchased one million shares on Tuesday, May 9.

The shares purchased are valued at N24.35 million. He previously possessed 1.52 billion indirect shares through five firms, including Quantum Zenith, in both 2021 and 2020.

He also owns 3.54 billion direct shares, earning him the title of “Godfather of Nigerian Banking.” When his total ownership is tied to the lender’s closing stock price of N24.25kobo per share, this takes his total investment in Zenith Bank to N122.7 billion.

According to Ripples Nigeria’s study of Onyeagwu’s capital, he has been expanding his investment in Zenith Bank since the end of 2020.

Information from an investigation of his capital market activity, the most recent of which was a purchase of 11.07 million shares on Monday.

He paid N274.45 million for the new shares, bringing his total number of direct shares to 65.06 million as of December 2021. Note that Onyeagwu’s entire direct shareholdings in 2020 were 46.5 million, indicating that the GMD’s investment in Zenith Bank is now worth around N1.8 billion.

Apart from Ovia and Onyeagwu, another executive director, Ahmed Shuaib, joined the buying binge on Monday, buying two million shares to supplement his own investment.

Shuaib is one of Zenith Bank’s top 10 stockholders, with 14.07 million direct shares as of December 2021, prior to his current purchase in the financial institution.

Shuaib’s stock holdings have also grown since the end of 2020, when he had 9.57 million shares. The director currently owns shares in Zenith Bank worth N389.69 million.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/05/21/jim-ovia-and-ebenezer-onyeagwu-invest-n285-52-million-in-zenith-bank-to-boost-corporate-investment/

'Godfather of Nigerian Banking' indeed