Fidelis Kunle
New member
Why would a billionaire sell one company… just to buy shares in another company?
That was the exact question many Nigerians asked me yesterday after hearing Mr. Femi Otedola say he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plant to buy $100 million worth of Dangote Refinery shares.
And honestly…
this single statement exposed one very important thing:
Many people still do not fully understand how investing really works.
Now calm down.
As your Financial Literacy Advocate..
Let me break this thing down in the simplest way possible.
Imagine Mama Ngozi that sells tomatoes in the village.
One day…
Mama Ngozi owns a very profitable yam business.
The business is doing well.
She’s making money.
Then suddenly…
she hears that one massive rice factory is about to open in the town.
Not ordinary rice business ooo…
I’m talking about the biggest rice factory in the entire region.
Everybody is talking about it.
The factory owner says:
“This factory alone will feed millions of people.”
Now Mama Ngozi starts calculating.
She says:
“If this business becomes successful the way they are projecting it…
the future profit may become far bigger than my current yam business.”
So what does she do?
She sells part of her yam business…
to buy ownership inside the rice factory early.
That is exactly what smart investors do.
They reposition capital.
Now let me explain what many people misunderstood about Mr. Femi Otedola’s statement.
He said he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plant to buy shares in Dangote Refinery through PRIVATE PLACEMENT.
Very important.
PRIVATE PLACEMENT is different from IPO.
And this is where many Nigerians are confused.
Now as your Financial Literacy Advocate and Investment Strategist, let me explain this better with a Simple Story in a way that even Grandma in the Village will nod her head and say: "Chie... IKING... I understand this one oooh"
Imagine a company wants to raise money.
There are three major ways they can do it.
The First is to Borrow loan from the Bank
The second one is PRIVATE PLACEMENT.
The third one is IPO.
Now what is PRIVATE PLACEMENT?
Private placement is when a company quietly approaches selected powerful investors privately.
Not everybody oooh.
Only selected investors.
These investors usually invest HUGE money.
I mean:
Massive money.
Sometimes...
millions of dollars.
Billions of naira.
Now in exchange for that money…
the investors receive equity ownership inside the company.
That was exactly what Mr. Femi Otedola was talking about.
He said he bought $100 million worth of shares.
Now ask yourself honestly…
how many Nigerians can invest $100 million?
Very very few.
That is why it is called PRIVATE placement.
It is not public yet.
Now as your Financial Literacy Advocate...
Let me tell you a Secret... and one important thing many people don’t understand.
Private placement investors usually buy at CHEAPER negotiated prices.
Yes.
Because they are entering early and bringing massive capital.
This is one major difference between PRIVATE PLACEMENT and IPO.
Now let me explain IPO.
IPO simply means:
Initial Public Offering.
Meaning…
the company is now opening ownership to the general public for the FIRST TIME.
Now ordinary Nigerians can buy.
Students can buy.
Mama Ngozi can buy.
Workers can buy.
Business owners can buy.
Anybody with a stockbroking account can participate.
But...
Now this is where valuation enters.
Before IPO happens…
professionals calculate:
- company value
- company assets
- company revenue
- future growth
- profitability
- total shares available
Now from those calculations…
they determine the share price.
That is the price the public will buy.
Now listen carefully to what Aliko Dangote himself said.
He said:
The refinery alone may generate the highest revenue in Africa.
Not Dangote Group ooo…
The refinery business alone.
Now let me explain why this statement is a BIG DEAL.
As an investor…
you don’t invest with emotion.
You invest with NUMBERS.
That is one thing many Nigerians still don’t understand.
Smart investors don’t just shout:
“Buy! Buy! Buy!”
No.
They study:
revenue,
cashflow,
demand,
future potential,
market control,
and scalability.
Now another thing Dangote mentioned was very powerful.
He said the refinery may control around 10% of America’s refining capacity.
Do you understand how massive that statement is?
That means this is not small business.
This is global-level infrastructure.
Now another thing he mentioned again…
He said international investors are already demanding billions of dollars worth of shares.
That is what we called "FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT" in finance.
Meaning:
Global money entering African business.
Now let me say something very important.
Many of you only heard:
“Dangote Refinery IPO.”
But smart investors heard something deeper.
They heard:
future positioning.
Because whenever institutional investors and billionaires are positioning heavily into something…
they are seeing long-term opportunity.
Now listen carefully.
This does NOT mean you should blindly rush and buy anything emotionally.
No.
That is gambling.
This is exactly why I founded Fokona
To help ordinary Nigerians understand investment properly before risking money.
You must learn:
- how IPO works
- how valuation works
- how stockbrokers work
- how CSCS works
- how company analysis works
- how risk management works
Because investment without understanding becomes speculation.
Now let me also explain something many people missed from that interview.
Femi Otedola said he had visited Dangote Refinery over 25 times.
Do you know what that means?
That means due diligence.
Serious analysis.
Inspection.
Verification.
Smart investors investigate before investing.
They don’t just invest because social media is shouting.
They don't invest because "Na my friend business"
Now hear me carefully.
If Dangote Refinery IPO eventually enters the Nigerian Exchange officially latest September 2026…
this may become one of the biggest IPOs in African history.
And remember what I told many of you months ago.
A company like Dangote Refinery will most likely be listed on the PREMIUM BOARD of the Nigerian Exchange because of its size and valuation.
Now this is why financial literacy matters.
Because when opportunities come…
only informed people position early.
My name is Iking Ferry,
Your Financial Literacy Advocate and Investment Strategist…
On a mission to build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through Fokona with the right knowledge.
That was the exact question many Nigerians asked me yesterday after hearing Mr. Femi Otedola say he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plant to buy $100 million worth of Dangote Refinery shares.
And honestly…
this single statement exposed one very important thing:
Many people still do not fully understand how investing really works.
Now calm down.
As your Financial Literacy Advocate..
Let me break this thing down in the simplest way possible.
Imagine Mama Ngozi that sells tomatoes in the village.
One day…
Mama Ngozi owns a very profitable yam business.
The business is doing well.
She’s making money.
Then suddenly…
she hears that one massive rice factory is about to open in the town.
Not ordinary rice business ooo…
I’m talking about the biggest rice factory in the entire region.
Everybody is talking about it.
The factory owner says:
“This factory alone will feed millions of people.”
Now Mama Ngozi starts calculating.
She says:
“If this business becomes successful the way they are projecting it…
the future profit may become far bigger than my current yam business.”
So what does she do?
She sells part of her yam business…
to buy ownership inside the rice factory early.
That is exactly what smart investors do.
They reposition capital.
Now let me explain what many people misunderstood about Mr. Femi Otedola’s statement.
He said he sold his stake in Geregu Power Plant to buy shares in Dangote Refinery through PRIVATE PLACEMENT.
Very important.
PRIVATE PLACEMENT is different from IPO.
And this is where many Nigerians are confused.
Now as your Financial Literacy Advocate and Investment Strategist, let me explain this better with a Simple Story in a way that even Grandma in the Village will nod her head and say: "Chie... IKING... I understand this one oooh"
Imagine a company wants to raise money.
There are three major ways they can do it.
The First is to Borrow loan from the Bank
The second one is PRIVATE PLACEMENT.
The third one is IPO.
Now what is PRIVATE PLACEMENT?
Private placement is when a company quietly approaches selected powerful investors privately.
Not everybody oooh.
Only selected investors.
These investors usually invest HUGE money.
I mean:
Massive money.
Sometimes...
millions of dollars.
Billions of naira.
Now in exchange for that money…
the investors receive equity ownership inside the company.
That was exactly what Mr. Femi Otedola was talking about.
He said he bought $100 million worth of shares.
Now ask yourself honestly…
how many Nigerians can invest $100 million?
Very very few.
That is why it is called PRIVATE placement.
It is not public yet.
Now as your Financial Literacy Advocate...
Let me tell you a Secret... and one important thing many people don’t understand.
Private placement investors usually buy at CHEAPER negotiated prices.
Yes.
Because they are entering early and bringing massive capital.
This is one major difference between PRIVATE PLACEMENT and IPO.
Now let me explain IPO.
IPO simply means:
Initial Public Offering.
Meaning…
the company is now opening ownership to the general public for the FIRST TIME.
Now ordinary Nigerians can buy.
Students can buy.
Mama Ngozi can buy.
Workers can buy.
Business owners can buy.
Anybody with a stockbroking account can participate.
But...
Now this is where valuation enters.
Before IPO happens…
professionals calculate:
- company value
- company assets
- company revenue
- future growth
- profitability
- total shares available
Now from those calculations…
they determine the share price.
That is the price the public will buy.
Now listen carefully to what Aliko Dangote himself said.
He said:
The refinery alone may generate the highest revenue in Africa.
Not Dangote Group ooo…
The refinery business alone.
Now let me explain why this statement is a BIG DEAL.
As an investor…
you don’t invest with emotion.
You invest with NUMBERS.
That is one thing many Nigerians still don’t understand.
Smart investors don’t just shout:
“Buy! Buy! Buy!”
No.
They study:
revenue,
cashflow,
demand,
future potential,
market control,
and scalability.
Now another thing Dangote mentioned was very powerful.
He said the refinery may control around 10% of America’s refining capacity.
Do you understand how massive that statement is?
That means this is not small business.
This is global-level infrastructure.
Now another thing he mentioned again…
He said international investors are already demanding billions of dollars worth of shares.
That is what we called "FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT" in finance.
Meaning:
Global money entering African business.
Now let me say something very important.
Many of you only heard:
“Dangote Refinery IPO.”
But smart investors heard something deeper.
They heard:
future positioning.
Because whenever institutional investors and billionaires are positioning heavily into something…
they are seeing long-term opportunity.
Now listen carefully.
This does NOT mean you should blindly rush and buy anything emotionally.
No.
That is gambling.
This is exactly why I founded Fokona
To help ordinary Nigerians understand investment properly before risking money.
You must learn:
- how IPO works
- how valuation works
- how stockbrokers work
- how CSCS works
- how company analysis works
- how risk management works
Because investment without understanding becomes speculation.
Now let me also explain something many people missed from that interview.
Femi Otedola said he had visited Dangote Refinery over 25 times.
Do you know what that means?
That means due diligence.
Serious analysis.
Inspection.
Verification.
Smart investors investigate before investing.
They don’t just invest because social media is shouting.
They don't invest because "Na my friend business"
Now hear me carefully.
If Dangote Refinery IPO eventually enters the Nigerian Exchange officially latest September 2026…
this may become one of the biggest IPOs in African history.
And remember what I told many of you months ago.
A company like Dangote Refinery will most likely be listed on the PREMIUM BOARD of the Nigerian Exchange because of its size and valuation.
Now this is why financial literacy matters.
Because when opportunities come…
only informed people position early.
My name is Iking Ferry,
Your Financial Literacy Advocate and Investment Strategist…
On a mission to build 10 million financially free Nigerians and Africans through Fokona with the right knowledge.