MTN group is planning 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.
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).
Source: Bloomberg
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