The $9.8 billion Tony Elumelu’s Business Empire

Last edited by: Charles Etim

• Tony Elumelu is one of the most influential businessmen in Africa
• He was listed on Forbes in 2014 with a net worth of $1B
• Portfolio companies include UBA, Transcorp, Heirs Energies among others

Who is Tony Elumelu?

Introduction

Tony Elumelu is a Nigerian businessman who has been instrumental to the founding of several companies like UBA, Transcorp, Heirs Energies, Avon HMO etc. He is a renowned business man widely celebrated around the world for his business acumen and philantropic gestures. He is widely travelled and can be seen posting pictures on his Instagram from Dorchester Hotel in London to New York where he meets with business leaders and discuss global issues.

Elumelu invests heavily across 24 countries in Africa and is a proponent of Africapitalism which states that the private sector is responsible for developing Africa. His $100 commitment to Tony Elumelu Foundation empowers over 1,000 entrepreneurs across Africa annually and has attracted support from various organization online like the UNDP and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

The Rise of a Banking Titan

Elumelu who started his life as a salesman, made a name for himself in the banking industry. He worked for renowned business man King Ebitimi Banigo in various roles as a branch manager and executive director before he decided to forge his own part. He teamed up with a group of friends and established a company called BGL – a special purpose acquisition vehicle. The timing was apparently right as military dictator and President of Nigeria, H.E. Ibrahim Babangida has just liberated the banking sector.

He started by acquiring several distressed banks like Merchant Bank of Commerce (MBCOM) and crystal bank (which was later renamed Standard Trust Bank) in the late 90s and early 2000s. However, the turning point came in 2005 when he acquired UBA, a tier 1 bank, at that time in what was one of the largest mergers as of that time. He then resumed as the CEO of UBA and led it till 2010 when he resigned due to a new CBN policy limit bank executive’s tenure. In the same year, he announced the formation of Heirs Holdings which is a family-owned investment holding company.

Elumelu’s Business Ventures: Heirs Holdings

Heirs Holdings invest in several sectors like finance, power, oil, energy, technology, real estate and healthcare across 24 countries.

The total value of portfolio companies where Heirs holdings has an interest in is estimated to be 15 trillion or $9.8 billion according to the Group’s website.

Source: Heirs Holdings Official Website

Power

Elumelu through Transcorp and Heirs Holdings holds stake in the listed Transcorp Power – the largest listed power company in Nigeria. Business man and philanthropist, Femi Otedola’s Geregu Power comes 2nd in terms of listed market value of a power company. Elumelu also owns TransAfam Power through his family stake in Transcorp of nearly 36%. Transcorp has a 100% equity stake in TransAfam Power.

Transcorp power and TransAfam together send almost 1000MW to the national grid accounting for about 15% of the nation’s power generation capacity. Transcorp Power is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of 2.74 trillion Naira or $1.74 billion dollars. Recall, that Heirs Holdings Power investment is estimated to be 26% of the overall portfolio size of $9.8 billion. Therefore, the market value of TransAfam power is estimated to be in the region of $800 million.

Oil and Gas

Heirs Holdings and Transcorp purchased OML 17 from a consortium involving Shell, Total, Eni for a consideration north of $1.1 billion. The transaction was one of the largest oil and gas acquisition of 2021. OML 17 is a shallow onshore block located north of Port Harcourt. Many international oil majors have been divesting from the onshore amid security challenges and a need to focus on more profitable offshore blocks. As of the time of the acquisition, the block produced more than 27,000 bopd even though the production dropped by 95% a year after it was acquired due to oil thieves.

According to Heirs Energies, the company formed for the management of OML 45, the production is now over 50,000 bopd. All other things being equal, the valuation will likely have gone up as a result. According to Heirs Holdings website, its investments in this sector contribute 23% or 2.254 billion dollars as of March 2025. However, worthy to note is that it also includes the oil and gas assets of Transcorp and Tenoil which Elumelu chairs. Transcorp and Tenoil own a stake OPL 281, while the later also owns an interest in OPL 2008 according to their website. As these are OPLs, it is likely that production has not commenced but it is still worth a lot of money. Tenoil had also owned OML 68 according to NUPRC.

Technology

The less known aspect of Elumelu’s portfolio is the technology sector. He has always been known for making his money in the financial sector, but it became a surprise to many when public information suggested that this makes up 18% of Heirs Holdings Portfolio company size. Technology companies are usually valued using multiples typically greater than their counterparts in other industries even with the same bottomline. The reason for this is the huge growth potential and the ability to reach more people potentially without nationwide borders. Also, according to Forbes, Elumelu holds a minority stake in MTN and its unclear if that makes part of this portfolio.

Redtech Limited one of the companies in the portfolio according to the website is involved in payment switching among other businesses. It is unclear the volume of transaction and the companies that use its services. However, a good competitor would be Interswitch which operates in the same line of business was valued at $1B during the fund raising round in 2024. Heirs Technologies, an older company registered in 2004, is mostly involved in consulting business from data analysis to business transformation. These companies are reportedly valued at $1.47 billion from public data on the website.

Real Estate & Hospitality

Real estate remains an important investment portfolio for any investor and hence not surprising to be included here. Real Estate even with the relatively high capital cost is usually considered one of the safest investment due to its potential for steady returns and growth. Forbes reported that Elumelu has sizeable real estate investments and he had used his real estate assets as collateral for loans. It is also worthy to note that Transcorp Hotels, a separately listed entity from Transcorp, is the hospitality investment of Heirs Holdings. Though, the value is already captured in Transcorp through its controlling stake of over 80% in the entity.

Real estate investment is valued at 17% of the total holdings. Apparently, this huge valuation can be traced to the listed market capitalization of Transcorp Hotels with a valuation of 1.49 trillion Naira as of 7th April, 2025. This valuation is amid the divesting of Transcorp Hotels Calabar last year, emergence of Aura the hotel booking app and also the planned Transcorp Hotels in Ikoyi. Transcorp Hotels had earlier undergone a renovation in 2018 for $100m and was the largest portfolio company of Transcorp Plc when Elumelu acquired a controlling interest in Transcorp in 2011 amid controversies. Elumelu also owns stakes in Africa Prudential and Heirs Tower that was recently commissioned in 2021.

Banking

Elumelu first made a name for himself in banking before he diversified to other sectors. With a stake exceeding 7%, he is the largest individual shareholder in the company that was founded in 1949. He was instrumental in expanding the bank to a large number of countries in Africa including overseas. UBA has been an important part of Elumelu’s portfolio since the founding of Heirs Holdings in 2010. The company pays dividends annually and this has served as a relatively source of income for the group.

UBA currently has a market capitalization of over 1.2 trillion Naira. The market cap has skyrocketed amid the Naira devaluation which President of Nigeria, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had introduced in 2023 when he came into office. This followed a floating of the currency which further caused a devaluation of the currency as the parallel market and official market struggled for a convergence. The 880 million dollars or 9% of Heirs Holding Portfolio likely consist nearly of the market value of UBA.

Insurance and Non-Banking Sector

Heirs Insurance Group consist of Heirs Insurance, Life Assurance and General Insurance. It has grown quickly despite being relatively new in the market and makes up 6% of the holdings. The company competes with older companies like AIICO insurance in this sector. The group reported impressive premiums, revenues and profits in the last 3 years. It also boast of a large payout for claims made by customers and its techy user interface. Famous investor and the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, has always cited insurance business as a cash cow. Buffett’s Geico which he controls through Berkshire Hathaway has always been one of its largest generators of free cash flow.

The Heirs Insurance Group’s valuation has been a subject of controversy. The group is worth around 588 million dollars according to the website. Some media outlets have called this valuation unrealistic and believe it is not worth up to 28 million dollars. However, looking at competitors like AIICO insurance who reported gross written premiums in 2023 of over 110 billion Naira or nearly 70 million USD (using today’s exchange) this seems to be the case. AIICO is currently worth just above 45 billion Naira or 28 million USD. It is unclear what other portfolio Hers Holdings has in this sector that makes it worth almost 600 million USD.

Healthcare

Healthcare is a very important part of any nation. It determines to a large extent the average life expectancy in a country. Avon HMO and Avon Medical Practice are the health companies in the group that have provided health care solutions to over 2,500 hospitals worldwide and also boast of rendering over 45,000 dialysis sessions. Elumelu’s wife, Dr. Vivien Elumelu, serves as the chairman for the healthcare companies in the group.

Looking at Avon reminds me of HCA healthcare that operates more than 186 hospitals and 2400 points of care. It is also owned by Tennessee richest man called Thomas Fist Jnr. HCA Healthcare generates more than $70 billion in revenue and nearly $6B in profit in 2024. Avon contributes 1% to the Heirs Holdings Group which is equivalent of 980 million dollars.

Other Acquisitions

Heirs Holdings made other acquisitions since its formation. For example, as of the early 2010s it was the 2nd largest shareholder in NASD OTC. NASD OTC is an alternative security exchange and over-the-counter platform, different from the Nigerian stock exchange. The company also invested in Planet Labs – a satellite imaging startup. Another of its investment was in the Nigerian affiliate of Seadrill in 2012. The investment was of no surprise since it can leverage the technical skills from seadrill for its Oil and Gas investment. Seadrill is the world’s second largest provider of services for the upstream oil and gas sector.

Conclusion

Heirs Holdings invest in a wide variety of sector ranging from power to technology. According to the group’s website the total portfolio is around 15 trillion or $9.8B. This value reflects the size of the companies rather than Heirs Holdings’ stake in this companies. Power, technology and oil investments make up the largest percentage of these investments. The information is seen on the group official website and not independently verified by Scholars Portal. Some analyst have previously tried to estimate the value of these holdings in the past, but may have done so with little information, hence the disparity. Heirs Holdings has also made other investments in the past not currently listed on their official website.

Scholars Portal has emailed Heirs Holdings for comments on this and will update when there is a feedback.