Africa’s biggest telecoms company, MTN Group Limited, said it plans to sell off some of its assets totalling $1.05 billion in valuation, over the next three years.
The move would see the leading telco review its market presence in some African and European countries, as well as investments in some e-commerce companies. The ultimate aim is to streamline the company into a focused operator in high-growth markets in the Middle East and Africa.
Already, MTN Group Limited has reached an agreement with some unknown buyers to divest its stake in the Botswanan wireless company, Mascom. The stake has been valued at $300 million.
“The group has committed to the portfolio review realising more than 15 billion rand over the next three years excluding any proceeds from its 23 billion rand position in IHS.”-MTN Group
Meantime, the Group performed well in 2018 despite Nigerian troubles
According to reports, MTN Group’s headline EPS increased by 85% to 337% in the year ended December. This notwithstanding, the bottomline is still not up to half of what the Group reported back in 2015, just before it began having difficulties in Nigeria.
2018 was probably MTN’s toughest year yet. As Nairametrics reported, several indictments were leveled against MTN, including illegal repatriation of funds to the tune of $8 billion, and a default on tax payment to the tune of $2 billion.
While MTN had agreed to settle the illegal repatriation case for $53 million last year, it is still in court over the $2 billion back taxes case.
NSE listing is still on course
Despite everything, MTN still plans to list its Nigerian unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange before the first half of this year. The company said this will be achieved via a listing by introduction and will be followed by a public offer once market conditions are conducive. For now, the process is still subject to regulatory approval.