South Africa’s MTN prepares to list publicly in Nigeria but it will not be doing so via an initial public offering. The conversion was a legal requirement and key milestone in the preparatory process for its listing by introduction on the NSE.
Unlike with an IPO, a listing by introduction will see the company list existing shares without raising new funding or issuing new shares. The listing is expected to happen by June 30.
MTN Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, says the proposed listing in the first half of 2019, will create a new telecoms asset class for investors, providing a wider group of Nigerians with a chance to participate in the investment opportunity.
MTN Nigeria’s proposed listing dates back to a billion-dollar settlement on a sim-card dispute with the Nigerian government in 2016. Following a $5.1 billion fine, the telecoms operator settled the dispute for $1.7billion in staggered payments and a commitment to list its shares in Nigeria.
In its 2018 financial report, MTN recorded growth above inflation in full service revenue of 17.2 per cent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation stood at N453.1bn.
The company added 4.5 million active data customers in 2018, delivering data revenue growth of 39.3 per cent.
