MTN Group has made it first major official comment in 2018, about its plans to list in Nigeria. The largest GSM company in Africa is expected to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange this year, in one of the most anticipated IPOs of the decade.
Before now, most reports about the listing had come from unofficial sources or from statements made in passing by MTN Officials at events within and outside Nigeria. However, in its recently released 2017 results, MTN provided guidance into its planned listing. See below:
\”MTN Nigeria continues to make good progress with the preparations for its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Extensive local marketing to target Nigerian investors is planned as part of a retail offer and institutional bookbuild, which may also involve selected international institutions. The operation anticipates that the listing will take place during 2018 subject to appropriate market conditions and requisite regulatory approval. MTN Nigeria has engaged with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the NSE extensively on the structure and parameters of the listing. The operation has also obtained its shareholders’ approval in principle to prepare for the listing, including amendments to its corporate structure. It is expected that the application to the NSE will commence in due course and management has already initiated its Corporate Governance Rating Scoring with the NSE with a view to listing on the NSE’s Premium Board. Any reduction in ownership by MTN Group in MTN Nigeria is expected to be limited.\”
Key Takeaways
- MTN is targeting retail investors which hopefully includes Nigerians with less than N100k to invest.
- They are also targeting institutional investors who they hope will help determine the listing price via a book build.
- They have obtained shareholder approval for the listing. This confirms that they have backing from South African shareholders and investors.
- Shareholders have also approved that they tweak their shareholding structure to accommodate Nigerian/New investors.
- They are yet to apply to the NSE.
- They want to list on the NSE premium board which includes the likes of Zenith Bank and Dangote Cement.
- The South African owned MTN will not give out a significant percentage of its equity in this IPO\’s. This suggest they might go the Dangote route which involves floating just a small percentage of the stock on the exchange.
What they did not reveal
- When exactly the listing will take place.
- Who the independent team working on this project are.
- How much equity they are willing to give up to newer shareholders.
