By Chinwendu Obienyi, Lagos
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) has announced that it intends to proceed with a public offer for the sale of up to 575 million shares in MTN Nigeria by way of a bookbuild to institutional investors and fixed price to retail investors.
The telecom company disclosed this to the investing public via a filing obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)’s website on Thursday.
The company had in August 2021, hinted that it will be selling 14 per cent of its shares to over 2 million Nigerian retail investors.
The company in a statement signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, said the Offer is anticipated to open in November 2021 with a bookbuild to institutional investors, after which a fixed price is expected to be announced for retail investors also in November 2021.
‘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.
‘Further information about the Offer and ways to subscribe will be provided,’ the statement said.
Earlier in the year during its 20th-anniversary celebration, the Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dr Ernest Ndukwe, said that the mobile network operator will invest more than N600 billion in network infrastructure over the next 3 years to improve telecommunications services across the country.
He said that MTN was also committed to specifically expanding its rural connectivity to reach areas that were underserved across the country.
‘We plan to connect approximately 1000 rural communities to our network this year with an additional 2000 communities in 2022,’ Ndukwe said.