Major shareholders in ten of Nigeria’s largest listed companies hold stakes worth an estimated N73.11 trillion, highlighting the significant concentration of ownership among the biggest companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
The finding is based on a Nairametrics Research analysis of the shareholding structures of more than 100 companies listed on the NGX, with a focus on major individual and corporate shareholders in companies with the largest market capitalisations.
The research identified ten mega-cap stocks — defined for this analysis as companies with a market capitalisation of at least N5 trillion — where major shareholders own significant portions of the outstanding shares.
The companies are HBM Nigeria, First HoldCo, Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, BUA Cement, BUA Foods, Airtel Africa, Seplat Energy, Aradel Holdings and Zenith Bank.
Together, the ten companies had a combined market capitalisation of N113.00 trillion as of July 31, 2026, equivalent to 71.37% of the NGX’s total market capitalisation of N158.33 trillion.
More striking is how much of that value is attributable to the stakes held by their major shareholders.
The holdings identified by Nairametrics Research have a combined implied value of approximately N73.11 trillion, representing 64.70% of the combined market value of the ten companies and 46.18% of the entire NGX market capitalisation.
Put differently, about N46 out of every N100 of market value on the Nigerian Exchange is represented by shares belonging to this relatively small group of major shareholders in ten mega-cap companies.
The group includes Abdul Samad Rabiu and BUA Industries Limited, Dangote Industries Limited, MTN International (Mauritius) Limited, Airtel Africa Mauritius Limited, Caricement BV, Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu through Heirs Energies Limited and Heirs Holdings Limited, Jim Ovia and Petrolin Ocean Limited.
Nairametrics Research calculated the implied value of the holdings using closing share prices as of July 31, 2026. Share prices as of January 2, 2026, were used as the reference point for calculating year-to-date performance.
The largest concentration identified in the analysis is linked to Abdul Samad Rabiu, whose interests span two of the NGX’s biggest companies, BUA Foods and BUA Cement.
Rabiu holds 16.67 billion shares in BUA Foods Plc through personal direct and indirect interests, representing 92.64% of the company — the highest single-company ownership percentage among the shareholders covered by the research.
Rabiu also personally holds 18.97 billion shares in BUA Cement Plc, equivalent to 56.03% of the cement producer, while BUA Industries Limited holds a further 13.46 billion shares representing 39.75%.
Rabiu’s personal stakes in BUA Foods and BUA Cement have a combined implied value of approximately N20.09 trillion, equivalent to 12.69% of the entire NGX market capitalisation.
Including the BUA Industries stake in BUA Cement increases the economic interest associated with Rabiu across the two companies to approximately N24.34 trillion, or 15.37% of the entire NGX.
A similarly concentrated ownership structure exists at Dangote Cement, where Dangote Industries Limited owns 14.62 billion shares, equivalent to an 86.65% majority stake.
At that price, Dangote Industries’ stake was worth an estimated N15.12 trillion.
The concentration is also particularly pronounced among Nigeria’s two largest listed telecommunications companies.
MTN Nigeria’s share price increased 63.80% from N511.00 at the beginning of the year to N837.00 as of July 31, giving the company a market capitalisation of approximately N17.57 trillion.
The parent company’s stake was consequently worth approximately N12.90 trillion.
Airtel’s NGX-listed shares surged 155.57% from N2,270.00 at the beginning of 2026 to N5,801.40 as of July 31.
That rally lifted Airtel Africa’s market capitalisation to approximately N21.80 trillion, making it the largest company among the ten mega-cap stocks covered by the analysis at the end of July.
Airtel Africa Mauritius’s majority stake was worth approximately N13.28 trillion.
Combined, the identified majority stakes in MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa alone were therefore worth approximately N26.18 trillion.
Another highly concentrated ownership position is found at HBM Nigeria Plc, formerly Lafarge Africa Plc.
Caricement BV holds approximately 9.03 billion shares, representing a 56.04% majority stake in the industrial goods company.
The rally pushed HBM Nigeria’s market capitalisation to approximately N5.85 trillion and valued Caricement BV’s stake at about N3.28 trillion.
The ownership concentration is less pronounced at First HoldCo and Seplat Energy, although the stakes held by their largest individual shareholders have grown substantially in value following strong share-price performances.
The rally lifted the company’s market capitalisation to approximately N5.89 trillion and placed the implied value of Otedola’s stake at approximately N1.56 trillion.
Otedola has also continued to increase his shareholding during the period, further strengthening his position as First HoldCo’s dominant individual shareholder.
At Seplat Energy, Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Energies Limited and Heirs Holdings Limited collectively hold 120.40 million shares, representing a 20.07% stake.
With Seplat valued at approximately N6.82 trillion as of July 31, the combined Heirs stake had an implied value of about N1.37 trillion.
Two smaller percentage stakes also make the cut because of the size of the underlying companies.
Zenith Bank’s share price almost doubled during the period, rising from N61.80 at the beginning of the year to N123.55 as of July 31, a year-to-date increase of 99.92%.
With the bank valued at approximately N5.07 trillion, Ovia’s stake carried an implied value of approximately N716.74 billion.
