MTN to sell 14% stake in Nigerian unit
- Targets 2 million retail investors in Nigeria
MTN Group is targeting at least 2 million retail investors in Nigeria ahead of its plan to sell 14 percent of shares in its local unit on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
“We would like to have the broadest retail shareholder base of any company in the history of the stock exchange of Nigeria,” Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria.
“We believe that it is coming in the short to medium term. We just need to programme all that in the context of the COVID-19 situation, working constructively with the relevant authority,” Toriola said.
Retail investors are non-professional investors who buy and sell through brokerage firms or other types of investment accounts.
MTN is the largest telecommunication operator in Nigeria with 39.66 percent share of the market and 74 million subscribers.
MTN group, a South African firm, which holds 78.8 percent of MTN Nigeria, added that the process would commence as soon as market conditions are conducive.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that in June 2016 MTN Nigeria committed to listing a portion of its shares on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as part of a settlement arrangement with the Nigerian government regarding a N330 billion ($800 million) fine.
The listing was initially expected to take place during 2017 but was delayed due to regulatory and macroeconomic issues; it eventually took place on May 16, 2019 via a ‘listing by introduction’.
Finally, MTN intends to follow this with a public offer once market conditions are favourable.
Over time, MTN Group anticipates that local ownership will increase from around 20 percent to 35 percent, although in March 2020 it hinted that its sale of a roughly 15 percent stake may have to be carried out in phases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a slump in oil prices.
