Telecom giants MTN Group is seeking to raise about $1 billion in an initial public offering in its largest market Nigeria as part of agreements reached with the Federal Government in settlement of a record fine slammed on it by the NCC, Bloomberg reports.
Minority shareholders may sell down their holdings or exit entirely, while MTN may offer a small portion of its stake in the business, one of the people said, declining to be identified because the details are private. The Johannesburg-based company is still fine-tuning any offer and no final decision has been made on the amount, the people said. MTN declined to comment.
The IPO is part of a deal struck with the Nigerian government to pay a 330 billion naira ($1 billion) penalty for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered subscribers. The negotiations over the fine, which has contributed to a 38 percent decline in MTN’s share price since it became public in October, cost 1.3 billion rand in professional-service fees, according to the company.
Nigeria is MTN’s biggest money spinner, accounting for more than a third of its sales and profit for a company that has a market value on the Johannesburg bourse of 220 billion rand ($15 billion).
