Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, has strengthened his investment in Seplat Energy Plc with the acquisition of an additional six million shares valued at approximately £53.2 million. The purchase, executed through Heirs Energies Limited, a company he controls, expands his interests in the energy company ahead of his scheduled appointment as its chairman in January 2027.
According to a notification filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the shares were purchased in London on September 30, 2026, at £8.87 each.
Heirs Energies purchased the shares in London on 30 September at £8.87 each, putting the value of the new transaction at £53.22 million, approximately $71 million. The dollar amount is an estimate, the transaction was reported in pounds.
The purchase takes the combined holding of Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings to 126.4 million shares, representing 21.07% of Seplat’s voting rights. The shares are held through those companies, rather than all being registered in Elumelu’s personal name.
Tony Elumelu joined Seplat’s board as a non-executive director in January 2026, following the December 2025 share acquisition by his companies. His latest investment therefore increases the combined shareholding of his companies before he assumes the chairmanship. The September transaction concerns the purchase of additional shares, while the leadership change follows the succession timetable announced earlier by Seplat.
Seplat is a big name in African energy, it produces oil and gas in Nigeria, supplies gas to the domestic market and has shares traded in both London and Lagos. The new acquisition therefore links a prominent African investor’s growing stake to the future leadership of a major Nigerian producer.
Seplat’s 30 September stock-market notification provides the share count, purchase price and resulting 21.07% voting interest. It describes the buyer as Heirs Energies, a company controlled by Elumelu.
This is an addition to an established position. Earlier in 2026, Elumelu-controlled companies acquired a 20.07% interest in Seplat from French Oil Company, Maurel & Prom in a transaction valued at approximately $496 million.
The latest six-million-share purchase lifts their reported voting interest by about one percentage point. Maurel & Prom disclosed the earlier sale.
Seplat also announced its leadership succession earlier in June 2026, current Chairman Udoma Udo Udoma intends to retire at the end of December 2026, with Tony Elumelu taking over the following day.
At the time, Elumelu said, “I am honoured to succeed Senator Udoma as Chairman in January 2027 and to lead the Board through Seplat Energy’s next phase of growth.”
Tony Elumelu’s Combined Seplat stake reaches 21.07% following the transaction, Heirs Energies’ direct holding in Seplat rose to 27,943,867 shares.
The filing disclosed that Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings, both controlled by Elumelu, now jointly hold approximately 126.4 million shares in the company. That combined investment represents a 21.07% voting interest, calculated against Seplat’s 599,944,561 issued shares. The distinction between the two figures is significant: the 27.94 million shares represent Heirs Energies’ direct holding, while the larger figure captures the combined interests of both companies. With the latest purchase, the two companies have added six million shares to the block acquired from Maurel & Prom less than a year earlier.
The disclosed voting interest reflects their combined shareholding. It does not amount to majority ownership of Seplat, although it gives the companies a substantial interest in shareholder decisions.
Additional Source: The Punch, Business Insider
