Business
Firm linked to Otudeko’s Honeywell Group buys 14% stake in Ikeja Hotel
HGL Real Estate Limited, a company with no significant digital presence, linked to billionaire tycoon Oba Otudeko, has acquired a 14.1 per cent stake in Lagos-listed hospitality provider Ikeja Hotel.
Ikeja Hotel “received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, that it has acquired 305,323,525 units of Ikeja Hotel Plc’s shares,” according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.
Based on Thursday’s closing share price, the firm’s holding in Ikeja Hotel is valued at over N13.2 billion.
The share purchase places HGL Real Estate among the top seven shareholders of the company, second only to Oma Investments Limited, which occupies the pinnacle of the pecking order with a 25.8 per cent interest.
HGL Real Estate does not own or run a known website, which is odd for a company financially enabled to own shares worth several billion naira in another firm.
Even on the Honeywell Group Limited (HGL)’s website, HGL Real Estate is not mentioned anywhere among the subsidiaries, including among the group’s real estate subsidiaries, which comprise Anchorage Leisures Limited and Uraga Real Estate.
PREMIUM TIMES’ checks with the Corporate Affairs Commission, as well as the commission’s beneficial ownership register, did not return any information related to the company.
In May 2023, Honeywell Group announced the appointment of Kemi Adeoye, its chief financial officer, to the board of Ikeja Hotel as a non-executive director.
“As a member of the board, Mrs Adeoye will play a crucial role in representing HGL’s interest in the company and ensuring continued value creation for stakeholders,” Honeywell Group said at the time.
“HGL’s investment in Ikeja Hotel Plc is in line with its mission to create, build, and invest in great businesses that create enduring value and improve lives,” it added.
In 2022, Honeywell Group consummated a deal to sell its 71.7 per cent shareholding in Honeywell Flour Mills to Nigeria’s largest flour-maker, Flour Mills.
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The enterprise value of the transaction was N80 billion.
Mr Otudeko served as the chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo) from 2012 until 2021, when he was ousted during a board shake-up by the Central Bank of Nigeria for his role in what the regulator described as a breach of corporate governance.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted approval-in-principle to JP Morgan to set up a merchant in the country.
The move eases the path for the US largest bank to expand its services – payments, lending, trade finance and corporate banking – in Nigeria, where it has operated a representative office for years.
JP Morgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited plans to run wholesale banking, capital markets and advisory services, Michael Akuka, the CBN’s director of corporate communications and investor relations, said in a statement on Friday.
The approval-in-principle is the first phase of the licensing process, and does not translate into an ultimate banking permit.
JP Morgan needs to clear further regulatory hurdles such as incorporation with the Corporate Affairs Commission and operational approvals before it can commence operations, the regulator stated.
The push comes amidst hordes of banking sector reforms in Africa’s most populous country, aimed at bolstering the financial system, enhancing market confidence and boosting resilience.
According to the statement, the CBN also approved the nomination of Adedapo Olagunju as the managing director of the bank and Latter Kevin George, Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne and Syed Gabriel Murtaza as non-executive directors.
“Our objective is to build a financial system that is stable, competitive and internationally connected, one that commands confidence and can effectively support investment and economic growth,” said CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso.
READ ALSO: CBN outlines market infrastructure supporting Nigeria–China financial flows at Beijing investor forum
“We are encouraged by the growing interest of international financial institutions in Nigeria. Our focus remains on sustaining the reforms, strengthening the credibility of our markets and creating an environment in which both domestic and international institutions can participate and thrive,” he added.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg, citing sources with knowledge of the deal, reported that JP Morgan was on course to secure a banking licence in the country after depositing N50 billion ($38 million) with the CBN.
It noted that the bank hopes to receive the licence by year-end or in early 2027, provided it is able to obtain all the requisite approvals
P Morgan’s presence in Nigeria dates back to 1961, when Chase Manhattan Bank, which later evolved into JP Morgan Chase & Co., opened a branch in Lagos, providing a wide range of commercial banking services to local businesses and individuals.
A year earlier, Chase International Investment Corporation, a unit of Chase Manhattan Bank, served as the lead partner in organising Nigerian Textile Mills in Lagos, regarded as the first major private industrial project with an American interest in Nigeria.
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The Bank of Industry (BOI) said it will expand financing for agriculture, local healthcare manufacturing and digital businesses in 2027.
The bank stated this as it seeks to consolidate the gains of its 2025–2027 corporate strategy and strengthen Nigeria’s industrial development.
The bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed the plan on Thursday at a meeting in Lagos, where he outlined the bank’s priorities for the final year of the strategy.
Mr Olusi said BOI would work with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on the National Industrial Finance Compact to attract more long-term capital into Nigeria’s industrial sector.
He also said the bank would deploy its new European Investment Bank facilities to agriculture and local healthcare manufacturing to increase domestic production of food and medicines.
The funding includes €85 million secured from the European Investment Bank for agriculture and another €50 million for healthcare manufacturing in 2026, as part of more than €2.2 billion in new funding the bank has secured for Nigerian industry since 2024.
READ ALSO: BOI supports 1.68m jobs as lending rises 26% to ₦644.9 billion
“We will deploy our new European Investment Bank facilities into agriculture and local healthcare manufacturing, so that Nigeria produces more of the food and medicines it consumes,” he said.
The bank also plans to expand its information and communications technology (ICT) and digital economy portfolio through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme.
Mr Olusi said the initiatives formed part of the bank’s efforts to consolidate its achievements and meet the targets of its 2025–2027 corporate strategy.
“2027 is the final year of our strategy, and our task is to consolidate and meet every target we set,” the BOI boss, Mr Olusi, said.
BOI said it disbursed N644.9 billion in 2025, reaching 12,501 businesses and supporting 1.68 million jobs.
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