UPDATED: MTN Nigeria to launch first public shares sale, offers 575 million units

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc will open a public offering for its shares and a bid from institutional investors in a transaction totalling 575 million units, the telecom heavyweight said Thursday.

The corporate action marks the first time the local unit of Johannesburg-based MTN Group will welcome subscription from the public roughly two and a half years after it debuted on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) by way of introduction.
The offer window closes in December.

“This is the first step in MTN Group’s previously communicated statement of intent to sell down approximately 14 per cent of its shareholding in MTN Nigeria,” the wireless carrier told the NGX in a note seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

MTN Nigeria’s shares, listed in Lagos, have returned 19.46 per cent in the last one year as of 09:54 WAT on Thursday.

Institutional investors get a chance to purchase the stock through book build, which allows bidders to apply for shares in large quantities in order to arrive at a price fairer than a pre-determined one.

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But those wanting to go the way of the public offer option will obtain theirs at a fixed price.

The move is part of a broader arrangement by the group to fully divest sell down parts of its stakes in markets within Africa including Zambia and Uganda.

MTN Nigeria, the flagship operation of the MTN Group, contributes around one-third of its turnover, and is currently the country’s biggest company by revenue.