MTN Group to Sell 575m Shares in Public Offer

*Announces completion of N90 billion Series II 10-year fixed rate bonds

Kayode Tokede

The MTN Group has disclosed plan to proceed with a public offer of up to 575 million shares in its Nigerian subsidiary, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc.
The telco disclosed this in a statement signed by Company Secretary, MTN Nigeria, Uto Ukpanah, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday.

It explained that the public offer was going to be by way of book building to institutional investors and fixed price to retail investors.
According to the MTN Group, the offer was anticipated to open this month, with a book build to institutional investors, after which a fixed price was expected to be announced for retail investors also in November 2021.

It added: “The offer is expected to close in December 2021. This is the first step in MTN Group’s previously communicated statement of intent to sell down approximately 14 per cent of its current shareholding in MTN Nigeria.”

The telecommunication giant on the Exchange also announced a successful completion of issuance of its N89,999,000,000 Series II 10-year 12.27 per cent fixed rate bonds due 2031 under the N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme.

Commenting on the bond issuance, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Karl Toriola in a statement explained: “We continue to be grateful for the immense investors support, as the domestic debt capital market has yet again given us the opportunity to raise long-term financing to aid investments in our network.
“In line with the company’s strategy, the bonds issued this year enable us to diversify funding sources and extend the maturity profile of the company’s debt portfolio.

“We are very proud of this landmark transaction and thank the investor community for their continued confidence in MTN Nigeria’s long-term strategy, our management team, and the overall telecoms industry.”

The Series II Bond is the second issuance in 2021 by MTN Nigeria following the successful debut in May 2021 This completes MTN Nigeria’s N200billion bond issuance programme, which was fully subscribed.

The book build process commenced on October 8, 2021 and was completed on October 15, 2021.
The offer was well received with active participation from a diverse range of high value investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, assets managers, financial institutions received peaked at N133,454,000,000, representing a 1.48 times oversubscription.

As a result, the Series II Bond was launched at a clearing coupon of 1.275 per cent with N89, 999,000,000 in qualified bids. As at the time of filing this report, MTN Nigeria Communication share price was trading at N175.60 per share.
MTN Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest providers of communications services, connecting approximately 68 million people in communities across the country, with each other and the world.