Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Energies raises Seplat stake to 21.07% after £53.2m share

Heirs Energies Limited, controlled by Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, has increased its combined interest in Seplat Energy Plc to 21.07 per cent following the acquisition of six million additional shares.

According to a regulatory disclosure issued by Seplat Energy on September 30, 2026, Heirs Energies purchased the shares at £8.87 each in a transaction executed in London, putting the total value of the deal at about £53.22 million.

The acquisition increased Heirs Energies’ direct holding in Seplat to 27,943,867 shares. When combined with shares held by Heirs Holdings Limited, both controlled by Elumelu, the entities now hold 126.4 million Seplat shares, representing a 21.07 per cent voting interest in the company.

Seplat has 599,944,561 issued ordinary shares, according to the regulatory filing. The latest purchase therefore adds about one percentage point to Elumelu’s previous combined 20.07 per cent holding.

The transaction marks a further increase in Elumelu’s investment in Seplat after Heirs acquired the entire 20.07 per cent stake previously held by French oil and gas company Maurel & Prom in December 2025.

Seplat’s 2025 integrated report had identified the Heirs Group, comprising Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings, as its largest shareholder at the time, with 120.4 million shares representing 20.07 per cent of the company.

Elumelu is currently a non-executive director of Seplat Energy and is expected to become chairman of the company from January 1, 2027, following the planned retirement of incumbent chairman Udoma Udo Udoma.

The latest acquisition comes as Seplat continues to expand its position as one of Nigeria’s major independent energy companies, with operations spanning oil and gas production and processing in the Niger Delta.

The company is listed on both the Nigerian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, meaning significant dealings in its shares are subject to disclosure requirements in both markets.

The regulatory filing described the latest transaction as a purchase of ordinary shares by Heirs Energies, a company controlled by Elumelu, and said the disclosure was made in accordance with applicable Nigerian exchange rules and the UK Market Abuse Regulations.