The MTN Group, representing the largest telecom company in Africa, has announced that it is preparing to sell shares in its Nigeria arm worth about $242-million in the continuation of its plan to dispose of assets and pay down debt.
MTN Nigeria, which was listed in Lagos in 2019, will offer 575 million shares, according to a statement released on Thursday. The move marks a larger effort to sell about 14% of the MTNs holdings in its Nigerian arm – the “largest and most profitable unit,” according to the company.
The news has spiked the price of MTN’s shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange by 3.6%, the largest rise in over a month. The MTN Group stock has surged 138% this year, making it the best performer on the FTSE/JSE Africa Top 40 Index, according to Bloomberg, as investors laud the company for its money-making strategies.
MTN Nigeria’s upcoming shares sale comes as MTN begins finalising a sale-and-lease back of its telecom towers in South Africa, and the sale of shares in its Ugandan arm in Kampala. The MTN Group is currently selling 4.47 billion shares in MTN Uganda at a price of $0.056 per share, or 200 Ugandan shillings.
MTN is also offering free shares of between five and 10 units for every 100 units allocated to East African buyers exclusively in an effort to make the Ugandan IPO successful, which will mean gathering applications for the purchase of at least 1.1-billion shares.
The Group announced that its third-quarter revenue gained 19%, primarily driven by data and fintech sales.
MTN Online School
MTN also recently launched a free online school in South Africa. The MTN Online School, a free online portal that provides a comprehensive digital curriculum for grades R-12 and additional features like video lessons, assessments and extra-tuition lessons for Grade 10 to 12 learners.
The solution is aimed at increasing access to curriculum-aligned educational content, as endorsed and provided by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in SA for Grades R-12 and for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN), using a digital platform. The full content library will be added to the platform and made available over a period of three years, focusing on key subjects.
By Luis Monzon
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