Bola Onadele Koko Cashes Out With N10.4bn FMDQ Stock Award

FMDQ Group Plc, approved a stock award worth about N10.4 billion for outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bola Onadele Koko, a massive payout meant to reward the pioneer CEO of the capital markets infrastructure firm for value created over time, though questions may arise over the size of the compensation package.

The agreement was awarded as Share Appreciation Rights (SARs) to Onadele Koko in the form of 1.3 billion shares (about 5%) of FMDQ Group outstanding shareholding, that entitles him to cash payments, to be determined based on the increase in the share price of FMDQ Group PLC between grant date and the time of exercise.

“Further to the fulfillment of the vesting conditions as at December 31,2024, the Group Board approved the Vested Share Appreciation Rights for the Chief Executive Officer,” FMDQ said in its 2024 annual report.

The awarded stock option has an exercise price of N0.37, and a contractual life of the option was 6.4 years while the vesting price is N7.66 per share. The share price for 2024 was based on 26 billion issued shares, and the 2024 share price for the 26 billion issued shares is ₦8.03 per share.

FMDQ booked a total of N14.57 billion in Cash-settled share-based payment liability for the period to account for the SAR awards to Onadele Koko and other senior management.

The move underscores Mr. Koko’s pioneering role in the company as CEO from from August 1, 2013, to June 30, 2025, when he stepped down.

The value of the award, based on the latest FMDQ share price as at the end of 2024, doesn’t take into account that Onadele Koko has to pay N0.37 per share (exercise price) on 1.3 billion shares, or N481 million in total, to collect it.

Mr Onadele Koko’s options were set to an earlier point in time when the share price was lower meaning the securities are already in the money.

FMDQ Group maintained a resilient performance in 2024 as the Group’s Profit Before Tax came in at ₦23.23 billion, representing a 65.54% increase from ₦14.03 billion recorded in 2023.

Profit after tax was N19.23 billion up 105% from 2023 levels, according to the annual report seen by MoneyCentral.

Revenue increased significantly by 50% to ₦51.41 billion from ₦34.29 billion in 2023, marking the highest level in the Group’s history.

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