HOW OTEDOLA GOT HIS GROOVE BACK

The question was asked how could anyone run up $1.5billion in debt and become solvent in a few years. Well, oil and gas mogul Femi Otedola did the magic.

It all started in 2008 at the height of international crude oil price crisis. At that time, Otedola’s Zenon Petroleum and Gas, was very solvent and the largest diesel importer in Nigeria.

The company invested a lot of money in (then) African petroleum with Otedola increasing his shareholding from

28.7% to about 55%, at a cost of $400million. And then the worst happened as the crude oil prices plunged from $146 to an all-time low of $36.

“We took a very big hit and I lost about $1.5 billion, plus interest, in the process. When the oil prices were dropping, I saw it coming. I could see myself losing big money. I had diesel worth $400 million on the high seas. It didn’t look good, I’m a capitalist though...It was a very low time for me and I explored different options, including suicide,” Otedola said in an exclusive interview with FORBES Africa.

According to Otedola, the same banks that had at different times sent pretty ladies to get money from him for their accounts in the past later send tough looking guys to harass him to pay his debts.

And the only people he credited at that point were his wife, Nana, for her great support; Jim Ovia, former Zenith Bank plc CEO and Segun Agbaje, MD, GT Bank plc.

“These people understand the situation and offered a restructure of the loans for ease of payment. I was however determined to pay it all up and move on,” he stated.

And that’s exactly what he did. He sold off his Zenon assets and all his bank shares to pay his debts. But his shares in Africa Petroleum were intact, and shifted all his focus into restructuring the company.

But as he has rake up billions, lost it and clawed it back, Otedola became wiser than ever. “The most important lesson I learned is that no one is invincible. No matter how high up there you are today, you can lose it all tomorrow if you are not on top of your game,” he said.

Otedola had appeared on FORBES’ billionaires list in 2009 and later dropped out of the rankings shortly after the plunge of the AP’ shares. In 2011, the oil tycoon embarked on a complete overhaul of the company including changing the company’s name to FORTE OIL. And a new forte was birth.

He returns to the FORBES rich list in 2014 wealthier and wiser. He is worth at least $1.2billion, as valued this year by the FORBES wealth unit in the United States and FORBES Africa.

His rise in net worth was helped by a spike in the share price of his company, FORTE OIL, where he owns an 80% shareholding. He has build an institution based on the best corporate governance practices.

Forte Oil now owns about 500 retail outlets across the 36 states of Nigeria. Its audited half year 2014 results shows growth and revenue grew.

Otedola clearly doesn’t believe in doing things by half. Be it homes, gadgets or cars, the guy love the good life. In his tastefully furnished $53.5million Knightsbridge, London home, he owns a fleet of custom-built Rolls Royce cars, and in Lagos, his choice is a fleet of Mercedes Benz. The luxurious cars are said to worth over $7million.

On the waters off Lagos Lagoon was his sleek, custom-made $19.5million yacht, anchored in front of his Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos office.

Otedola is a true survivor as attested to by another FORBES rich list honouree, Jim Ovia. The Chairman of Zenith Bank plc said he admires Otedola’s resilience.

“He has experienced the vicissitudes of doing business on the African continent in recent years. I have however encouraged and believed in him through the entire course. He has remained resolute in his quest and today, it is a pleasure to celebrate his successes,” Ovia told FORBES Africa.


Original story was from FORBES Africa
Words by FUNSHO AROGUNDADE