Oba Otudeko's Firm Takes 14% Stake in Ikeja Hotel

HGL Real Estate Limited, a company tied to billionaire Oba Otudeko, has bought a 14.1 percent stake in Ikeja Hotel, which is listed in Lagos.

Ikeja Hotel announced that it received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, about the purchase of 305,323,525 shares of Ikeja Hotel Plc. This information came from a regulatory filing on Thursday.

With the share price at Thursday's close, HGL's investment in Ikeja Hotel is worth more than N13.2 billion.

This purchase makes HGL Real Estate one of the top seven shareholders in the company. It is now second only to Oma Investments Limited, which has a 25.8 percent stake.

HGL Real Estate does not have a known website, which is unusual for a company that can afford shares worth billions of naira.

Even on the Honeywell Group Limited website, HGL Real Estate is not listed among its subsidiaries. The group’s real estate subsidiaries include Anchorage Leisures Limited and Uraga Real Estate.

Checks by PREMIUM TIMES with the Corporate Affairs Commission and its ownership register did not reveal any details about HGL Real Estate.

In May 2023, Honeywell Group appointed Kemi Adeoye, its chief financial officer, to the board of Ikeja Hotel as a non-executive director.

Honeywell Group said, "As a member of the board, Mrs. Adeoye will represent HGL’s interest in the company and ensure continued value creation for stakeholders."

They also stated, "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."

In 2022, Honeywell Group sold its 71.7 percent stake in Honeywell Flour Mills to Nigeria’s largest flour producer, Flour Mills.

The deal was valued at N80 billion.

Mr. Otudeko was the chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo) from 2012 until 2021. He was removed during a board shake-up by the Central Bank of Nigeria for his role in what the bank called a breach of corporate governance.