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.
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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.
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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.
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