MTN To Sell 575 Million Shares To Nigerians

MTN Nigeria Plc has announced that it will commence sell of 575 million shares which is 14 per cent of its stakes to Nigerians.

The shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos in 2019. The shares are worth about N101bn ($244m).

MTN Group Ltd announced the development on Thursday in a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.

The company has been exiting and reducing stakes in some African countries like Uganda and Zambia.

The decision is coming after the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said during the company’s 20th-anniversary celebration that the plan to reduce its stake by 14 per cent was being considered.

The Company said, “MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) is pleased to inform the market that MTN Group Limited has announced its intention to proceed with a public offer for sale of up to 575 million shares in MTN Nigeria by way of a book-build to institutional investors and fixed price to retail investors.”

The telecom firm said the offer is anticipated to be announced in November 2021 with a book-build to institutional investors.

MTN disclosed that a fixed price for retail investors will also be announced in the same month.

“The offer is expected to close in December,” the network provider added.

Checks by THE WHISTLER shows that the telecom giant has 20,354,513,050.00 outstanding shares. The company’s share price closed at N175.6 per share on Wednesday.

By the end of the third quarter of this, the company’s revenue grew to N1.2trn from N975.8bn making the Nigerian segment the most profitable.

The company’s profit also grew to N321.4bn in the third quarter of this year, from N211.6bn in the third quarter of 2020.