Elumelu acquires additional £53.2m shares in Seplat

Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, has acquired an additional six million shares in Seplat Energy Plc for £53.2 million.

According to a notification filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday, the shares were bought by Heirs Energies Limited, a company controlled by Elumelu.

The notice said the billionaire purchased shares at £8.87 each in a transaction conducted in London on September 30, 2026.

Following the transaction, Heirs Energies’ direct holding in Seplat increased to 27,943,867 shares.

The filing said Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings Limited, both controlled by Elumelu, now jointly hold 126.4 million shares in Seplat, representing a 21.07 percent voting interest based on the company’s 599,944,561 issued shares.

Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings had acquired 120.4 million shares from Maurel & Prom in December 2025. The latest purchase also 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 December 31, 2026, with Elumelu elected to succeed him from January 1, 2027.

Elumelu joined Seplat’s board as a non-executive director in January 2026.

The company, in the filings, also said the transaction was disclosed in accordance with Rule 17.15(c) of the NGX Rulebook 2015 on disclosure of dealings in issuers’ shares and Article 19(3) of the UK market abuse regulations.