Nigerian tycoon Tony Elumelu’s family raised its stake in the nation’s biggest conglomerate after warding off a takeover threat from a rival. 

Elumelu’s wife, Awele Elumelu, acquired 5.1% of Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. That boosts the family’s holding to at least 30%, which according to Nigerian takeover rules is the threshold for triggering an open offer. Transcorp didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. 

Before the latest acquisition, the tycoon spent about $65 million to buy 11.7 billion shares of the company known as Transcorp at various price levels starting April 27. Elumelu began boosting his share days after rival Femi Otedola accumulated a 5% stake in the company, making him the largest single shareholder. Otedola has since sold his stake to Elumelu, according local media reports. 

Transcorp controls about 16% of Nigeria’s electricity generating capacity, runs hotels and explores for oil. That gives Elumelu an avenue to expand in areas that are crucial for Africa’s most-populous nation. A Transcorp-led group earlier this month acquired Abuja Electricity Distribution Co. in a move to expand into power distribution.

The fight for control has helped Transcorp’s shares advance 86% since April 1, making them the second-best performing on the NGX All Share Index.

Elumelu began his buying spree through his wholly owned investment firm HH Capital, raising his stakes in Transcorp to 25.58% from 2.07%. Elumelu rejected an offer from Otedola, who wanted to acquire Transcorp for 250 billion naira ($538 million), according to online newspaper Premium Times, citing a statement from Otedola. 

Lagos-based Transcorp owns three power plants, with a combined installed generating capacity of 2,000 megawatts. It also owns hotels in the capital, Abuja, the commercial hub of Lagos and the southern city of Calabar.

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who leads the National Council on Privatization, last week said that a consortium led by Transcorp has been given approval to acquire Abuja Electricity, without disclosing financial details. 

United Bank for Africa Plc, a lender headed by Elumelu, put Abuja Electricity on sale in 2021 to recoup $122 million in debt that it had defaulted on. UBA declined to comment. 

Bloomberg