Over 1 Billion Units of Fidelity Bank Shares Traded in Off-Market Transaction Sparking Market Interest

A total of 1,140,866,892 units of Fidelity Bank Plc shares were traded in nine negotiated deals during Friday’s trade on the NGX, sparking significant interest across the capital market, although no official filing has yet been made with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Apel Asset Management Ltd is said to have acted as the seller in the off-market transaction, while both CardinalStone Securities Ltd and Apel Asset Management Ltd were listed as buyers.

The unusually large volume of shares traded has fueled speculation of potential strategic moves or an ongoing ownership re-alignment within the tier-2 bank as the trade comes shortly after a major cross-deal involving FBN Holdings Plc (FirstHoldco), where over 10.4 billion shares valued at ₦323 billion were exchanged earlier in the week.

Fidelity Bank has been a dominant player in recent trading activity on the NGX. Between April 11 and July 17, 2025, it was the most actively traded stock, with 4.01 billion shares exchanged across 41,535 deals, valued at ₦77.8 billion.

Despite the large off-market trade, Fidelity Bank’s share price closed at ₦21.10 on Friday, marking a 2.1% decline from the previous day’s ₦21.55. However, the stock remains one of the year’s strong performers, with a 20.6% gain year-to-date.

Investors and market watchers now await official communication from either Fidelity Bank or the NGX to clarify the details and strategic significance of the transaction.