Tony Elumelu Expands UBA Ownership, Buys N43.91bn Shares

Tony Elumelu, Chairman of United Bank for Africa(UBA), has acquired an additional N43.91 billion worth of shares in the bank over two days.

According to a regulatory filing submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Group by UBA’s Group Company Secretary, Bili Odum, the transactions were carried out between May 29 and May 30, 2025.

During this time, Elumelu purchased a total of 1,267,669,350 shares at an average price of N34.64 per share.

Detailed breakdowns from the filing show that the businessman bought 50 million shares at varying prices, N34.70, N34.65, N34.75, and N34.55, as well as an additional 17,669,350 shares at N34.70 per share.

This marks Elumelu’s second major purchase of UBA shares in May.

On May 23, he bought 45,034,044 shares at N34.30 each, a deal valued at approximately N1.53 billion.

Elumelu had earlier announced his intention to increase his stake in the bank on May 25, 2024.

His latest acquisition comes as UBA prepares to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive for commercial banks with international licenses to raise their capital base to N500 billion.

To comply, UBA plans to raise N144.8 billion in Q3 2025, building on its current capital base of N355.2 billion.

Elumelu has assured stakeholders that the capital raise will be completed before the CBN’s deadline.