MTN Group said on Thursday that it would list its Nigeria unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2017.
The telecoms company said the listing will be “subject to suitable market conditions” and is part of the agreement reached with Nigerian authorities in the settlement of the fine imposed on MTN for its failure to disconnect unregistered SIM cards.
MTN said it has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, the Nigeria unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank, as the lead issuing house for the planned listing. Citigroup Global Markets, Standard Bank, and Standard Advisory London, will act as joint transaction advisors and global coordinators, while other Nigerian parties will be appointed in due course.
In June, MTN reached a deal with Nigerian authorities to pay the regulatory fine of N330 billion over three years. MTN agreed to pay N30 billion in July 2016 and another N30 billion in March 2017. The company will then pay N55 billion in four installments in March 2018, December 2018, March 2019, and December 2019. A N50 billion good faith payment made in February this year also forms part of the deal.
The fine was worth about $1.67 billion at the prevailing exchange rate of N197 per dollar. However, the devaluation of the naira by over 42 percent means that the fine is now equivalent to about $1.2 billion.
Due to the impact of the fine on its balance sheet, MTN said earlier this month that it would record an interim loss for the half-year ended on June 30, 2016.
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