Billionaire investor Femi Otedola has exited Geregu Power Plc in a landmark transaction valued at about $750 million, divesting his 77 per cent controlling stake in the power generation company.
The development was disclosed in a filing by Geregu Power Plc on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and corroborated by sources familiar with the deal. The transaction was executed through the sale of Otedola’s 95 per cent stake in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited to MA’AM Energy Ltd, a Nigerian energy firm, marking one of the largest private power-sector divestments in Nigeria’s history.
According to the NGX filing, Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, the majority shareholder in Geregu Power, underwent a major restructuring of its ownership. The document confirmed that MA’AM Energy Ltd acquired a 95 per cent equity interest in Amperion Power, thereby becoming the new controlling shareholder of Geregu Power Plc. As a result, the indirect controlling interest previously held by Calvados Global Services Limited and Otedola was transferred to MA’AM Energy.
MA’AM Energy, according to information on its website, is an Abuja-based integrated energy company involved in electricity generation and supply, energy trading, and marketing.
Sources familiar with the transaction said the deal closed on December 29, 2025, and was financed by a consortium of Nigerian banks led by Zenith Bank, with Blackbirch Capital acting as financial advisers.
Geregu Power clarified that the transaction did not involve the direct sale or transfer of shares in Geregu Power Plc itself, meaning the company’s public shareholding structure on the NGX remains unchanged. However, the ultimate beneficial ownership of about 77 per cent of the company has effectively changed hands.
Geregu Power is currently valued at about ₦2.85 trillion and trades at ₦1,140 per share, making it one of the most capitalised and profitable companies on the Nigerian Exchange.
Otedola’s involvement in Nigeria’s energy sector spans more than two decades, beginning in 1999 with the incorporation of Zenon Petroleum and Gas and later the acquisition and rebranding of African Petroleum into Forte Oil. After exiting Forte Oil in 2019, he spun off the power generation arm as Geregu Power and grew it into one of Nigeria’s leading generation companies, contributing roughly 10 per cent of electricity to the national grid.
Under his leadership, Geregu Power expanded from an initial capacity of 40 megawatts to a nameplate capacity of 435 megawatts, achieved consistent profitability, and paid average annual dividends of about ₦20 billion.
Otedola’s exit from Geregu Power signals a strategic shift toward the financial sector. He currently serves as chairman of First HoldCo, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria, where he holds a 17.1 per cent stake, making him the single largest individual shareholder. His entry into First Bank in 2022 reshaped the bank’s ownership structure and was followed by recapitalisation, restructuring, and aggressive debt recovery efforts.
With about $750 million in liquidity unlocked from the Geregu deal, the move comes as Nigeria’s banking sector prepares for a new wave of recapitalisation and consolidation.
The transaction also comes at a critical time for Nigeria’s electricity market, following the Federal Government’s announcement of a ₦4 trillion power-sector liquidity fund, with an initial ₦590 billion already being disbursed to settle debts owed to generation companies and improve cash flow across the sector.
Otedola’s exit highlights a broader trend of early investors in Nigeria’s post-2013 power privatisation reaching maturity in their investment cycles, as improving valuations and liquidity conditions drive increased restructuring and ownership changes in the electricity sector.
