Nigerian businessman and investor Tony Elumelu has increased his interest in Seplat Energy Plc, with Heirs Energies, a company he controls, acquiring an additional six million shares in the Nigerian energy producer ahead of his scheduled assumption of the company’s chairmanship.

The shares were purchased on the London Stock Exchange on September 30 at £8.87 each, putting the value of the transaction at £53.22 million, equivalent to approximately $71 million based on the prevailing sterling-dollar exchange rate around the transaction date.

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The acquisition takes the combined holding of Elumelu-controlled Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings to 126.4 million Seplat shares, representing 21.07 per cent of the company’s voting rights.

The shares are held through the two companies rather than being registered in Elumelu’s personal name, according to Seplat’s September 30 stock-market notification, which disclosed the number of shares acquired, the purchase price and the resulting voting interest.

The latest acquisition comes just months before Elumelu is due to assume the chairmanship of Seplat on January 1, 2027. He joined the company’s board in January, while the current chairman, Udoma Udo Udoma, is due to retire at the end of December.

Seplat has not disclosed the specific reason for the latest share purchase.

The transaction builds on an already substantial position accumulated by Elumelu-controlled companies earlier this year. In a transaction valued at approximately $496 million, Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings acquired a 20.07 per cent interest in Seplat from French oil company Maurel & Prom.

The additional six million shares therefore increase the Elumelu-controlled entities’ reported voting interest by about one percentage point, further increasing their financial exposure to the company ahead of the leadership transition.

Announcing the succession in June, Elumelu said he was honoured to succeed Udoma as chairman and lead the board through Seplat Energy’s next phase of growth.

Seplat is one of Africa’s major independent energy companies, producing oil and gas in Nigeria while supplying gas to the domestic market. Its shares are traded on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Exchange.

The latest acquisition thus further aligns Elumelu’s growing investment in Seplat with his impending leadership role at the company, strengthening his financial exposure to one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous energy producers.