Five prominent investors collectively hold a 24.25 per cent stake in Aradel Holdings, with their combined holdings valued at about $1.1 billion based on the company’s recent share price.
Aradel Holdings closed at N1,450 per share, giving the oil and gas company a market value of about N6.3 trillion, equivalent to roughly $4.53 billion at an exchange rate of N1,390 to the dollar.
The five investors are Samuel Dossou-Aworet, Fola Adeola, Ladi Jadesimi, Olusola Adeeyo and Adegbite Falade.
Dossou-Aworet, through his Petrolin group, holds the largest individual stake at 12.26 per cent, valued at approximately $556 million. The Benin-born oil executive has extensive experience in Africa’s petroleum industry and previously served as Gabon’s Director General of Hydrocarbons.
Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank, owns a 5.52 per cent stake valued at about $250 million. Adeola later established the FATE Foundation and has held leadership positions across several Nigerian businesses and institutions.
Ladi Jadesimi owns 5.27 per cent through Badagry Creek FZE, representing approximately $239 million. He played a major role in building Aradel from its early days as a drilling investment company into an integrated oil and gas business.
Olusola Adeeyo holds 0.93 per cent of the company, with his stake valued at about $42 million. He has held senior positions across Nigeria’s banking and financial sectors and currently has interests in several businesses.
Adegbite Falade, Aradel’s chief executive, owns 0.26 per cent, valued at approximately $12 million, making him the smallest individual holder among the five.
Aradel began operations in 1992 and later acquired interests in the Ogbele marginal field in Rivers State. The company subsequently expanded into crude oil production, refining and gas processing.
It commissioned its modular refinery at Ogbele in 2010 and later expanded the facility to an 11,000-barrels-per-day three-train plant. The company also developed a gas processing facility and became an important indigenous player in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The company adopted the name Aradel Holdings in 2023 and was listed on the Nigerian Exchange in 2024.
The concentration of significant personal stakes in the company highlights the growing role of Nigerian and African private investors in the country’s oil and gas sector.
