MTN To Issue IPO In 6 Months

Telecommunication giant, MTN has announced that it will issue an Initial Public Offering of its Nigerian business and should complete the process in the next 6 months. If the IPO is successful, it means MTN will be the first telecommunication company in Nigeria to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

However, the IPO is not really what MTN wanted. The IPO is part of the settlement of a $1bn fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission on it in 2015.

The firm, which is Africa’s biggest telco operator was fined after missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered subscribers amid a security crackdown in the country.

Commenting on the IPO, Rob Shuter the CEO of MTN said: “We have a lot of advisers running around and getting everything ready. It’s a complicated process and there’s a lot of regulation that needs to be arranged. We are moving forward well with the project and anticipate concluding that in the next six months or so.”

This is good news for Nigerians as they will obviously be looking forward to the IPO. This is probably due to the fact that the recent economic downturn has significantly cut the return on investment from public companies listed on the NSE especially from the banks.