Telecoms giant, MTN Nigeria has taken the first step towards getting listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The company on Thursday appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and its affiliates as transaction advisors to undertake the spade work on its proposed listing. The telecoms firm said Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited would be exercising the mandate together with its affiliates, namely The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited and Citigroup Global Markets Limited.
MTN said the full syndicate, which would function as Joint Transaction Advisors and Joint Global Coordinators, with Stanbic acting as Lead Issuing House, would also include Nigerian receiving agents, banks and other advisers to be appointed in due course, as appropriate.
As part of the conditions agreed with the Federal Government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last month, to settle the crisis over the $3.4 billion (N1.04 trillion) fine imposed in October 2015, MTN Nigeria had announced its intention to list its shares on the NSE as soon as commercially and legally possible. “MTN Nigeria is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has resolved to proceed with preparations for a listing of MTN Nigeria on The NSE”, the telecoms firm said on Thursday in a statement.
As part of preparations, it said it had established a management task team charged with the responsibility of guiding it towards a listing targeted to take effect in 2017.
The proposed listing, the MTN Group explained, would however be “subject to suitable market circumstances and conditions and the appropriate approvals from relevant regulators and other stakeholders.” The inauguration of the management task team, it pointed out, did not constitute an announcement of an intention to float MTN Nigeria, saying further announcements would be made on this issue at appropriate intervals on progress.
At the end of negotiations last month over the crisis that followed the fine saga, both NCC and MTN Nigeria had agreed that the company would pay only N330 billion, out of the N780 billion it was earlier reduced to, from the initial N1.04 trillion.
The NCC had imposed the fine after MTN failed to disconnect5.1 million registered telephone lines within the prescribed deadline. In line with the terms of the resolution, the balance of N280 billion would be paid by MTN in six tranches between now and May 31, 2019, including payment of N30 billion immediately within 30 days from June 10, 2016 when the agreement was signed. Other tranches of payments, in line with the payment plan, included another N30 billion by March 31, 2017; March 31, 2018 (N55 billion), December 31, 2018 (N55 billion), March 31, 2019 (N55 billion) and the balance of N55 billion on May 31, 2019.
