It is now certain that MTN Nigeria is set to be listed on the country’s Stock Exchange, after a settlement reached with the national authorities. The announcement has been made by the MTN Group, and the entry – which is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) – is to be by way of an introductory listing.
This implies that the shares of the already existent MTN Nigeria shareholders will be listed without an additional public sale of shares, giving them freedom to trade their divide on the Stock Exchange.
With reference to the private share sale transactions made by the telco’s shareholders over the past six months, the listing price has been set at $0.25 per share (about UGX 950). The company registered 20.35 billion ordinary shares with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission last week, with plans to list around 20% of those for exchange.
The listing price gives MTN Nigeria a market value of as much as $5 billion (about UGX 18.9 trillion), a feat that will raise it up to the second position among the biggest public firms in Africa. The top post is in the hands of Dangote Cement.
It should be noted that this listing was a condition set by Nigerian authorities following a more than US$1-billion fine from the Nigerian Communications Commission. This was after MTN Nigeria failed to disconnect more than five million unregistered Sim cards,.
The company has had to face numerous troubles in the West African country, including a dispute over repatriated dividends with the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as claims from Nigeria’s auditor-general that it owes $2-billion in back taxes. MTN has since denied the charges and is battling them in court.
