Elumelu, following an increase in the stake held by Heirs Holdings in Seplat, is expected to be appointed chairman of the oil company.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Chairman of Heirs Holdings and former Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu, has added an extra six million shares worth £53.2 million to his holding in Seplat Energy Plc.
The latest acquisition by Heirs Energies Limited was revealed in a notification filed by the company with Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday.
According to the notice, the business mogul purchased shares at £8.87 each in a transaction conducted in London on 30 September 2026.
It added that following the transaction, Heirs Energies’ direct holding in Seplat increased to 27,943,867 shares. It further noted that the organisation and its parent/holding company, Heirs Holdings Limited, both controlled by Elumelu, now jointly hold 126.4 million shares.
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Meanwhile, in December 2025, the two companies acquired 120.4 million shares from Maurel & Prom as part of its complete exit from Seplat Energy Plc.
The latest purchase takes their stake in Seplat to a 21.07 per cent voting interest out of the company’s 599,944,561 issued shares.
In the filings, the company also stated that the transaction was disclosed in accordance with Rule 17.15(c) of the NGX Rulebook 2015 on the disclosure of dealings in issuers’ shares and Article 19(3) of the UK Market Abuse Regulation.
The development comes ahead of Elumelu’s planned appointment as chairman of Seplat.
In June, Seplat announced that its current chairman, Udoma Udo Udoma, would retire on 31 December 2026, with Elumelu elected to succeed him from 1 January 2027.
