MTN places shares in Private Placement

Bode Adewumi and Oluwaseun Ayantokun, Lagos - 13.02.2008

Nigerian individuals and key institutions have acquired a 9.45per cent interest in MTN Nigeria from MTN Group and other shareholders in MTN Nigeria, pursuant to a private placement. The transaction is part of an evolving approach to broaden MTN Nigeria’s Nigerian shareholder base by involving more Nigerians as investors.

The main idea behind the transaction was to ensure wider participation by Nigerians in MTN Nigeria, and to reaffirm MTN’s commitment to partnership with Nigeria and its people.

IBTC Chartered Bank plc acted as issuing house to the Private Placement, which is the largest Private Placement undertaken in the Nigerian market, valued at approximately US$ 1 billion. It is expected that the share transfer will be effected on 18 February 2008.

Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria has reiterated that it was mindful of its obligations to its customers as it would continue to make efforts to meet and exceed their expectations. According to Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, “we remain totally committed to providing world class telecommunications services across Nigeria ”.

Mrs. Oyagbola enumerated the huge investments that the company has undertaken in the last 12 months to ensure that its customers enjoy seamless services in the near future. She said, “in the last six months, we have increased our active sites to 3,573 from 2,775,”. She adding that 500 base stations across the country had been upgraded to provide more capacity, whilst security at all its base stations has been increased to check the menace of vandalization of its facilities.

She observed that the company achieved its roll out targets, in spite of the difficulties associated with site acquisition, which potentially inhibit network growth and the dearth of skilled manpower.

She expressed a sense of satisfaction that the company had finally obtained approval for 47 sites in Abuja after a two-year delay, and that MTN was currently making arrangements to co-locate its facilities in Abuja with other GSM operators.