MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN Nigeria) has announced that it successfully completed the issuance of its N89.99 billion Series II 10-Year 12.75 per cent Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031 (“Series II Bond”) under the N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme.
The company in a statement said the book build process commenced on 8 October, 2021, “and was completed on 15 October, 2021. The offer was well received with active participation from a diverse range of high value investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals. During the book build, the total value of subscriptions received, peaked at N133.45billion representing a 1.48 times oversubscription. As a result, the Series II Bond was launched at a clearing coupon of 12.75 per cent with N89.99 billion in qualified bids”
This is as MTN Nigeria has announced MTN Group intention to proceed with a public offer of up to 575 million shares in its Nigeria subsidiary.
A statement signed by Company secretary, MTN Nigeria, Uto Ukpanah on the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday disclosed that the offer is going to be in a way of book build to institutional investors and fixed price to retail investors.
Commenting on the bond issuance, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said, “We continue to be grateful for the immense investor support, as the domestic debt capital market has yet again given us the opportunity to raise long-term financing to aid our investments in our network. In line with our strategy, the bonds issued this year enable us to diversify our funding sources and extend the maturity profile of our debt portfolio. We are very proud of this landmark transaction and thank the investor community for their continued confidence in MTN Nigeria’s long-term strategy, our management team, and the overall telecoms industry.”
Also speaking, Kemi Awodein,Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham stated that, “We are delighted to have led and completed MTN Nigeria’s N200 Billion Bond Issuance Programme with the pricing of the N89.999 billion Series 2 bonds. MTN Nigeria’s strong credit story has underpinned what have been two oversubscribed issuances in tricky market conditions this year. Chapel Hill Denham acted as Lead Manager and Bookrunner on the MTN debut and follow on issuances of the first bonds issued by a Nigerian telecommunications operator further broadening Nigeria’s capital markets. We are humbled to have led this landmark transaction and pleased to have delivered results for MTN Nigeria and the opportunity to be a part of MTN’s continued success story.”
Chapel Hill Denham acted as the Lead Issuing House for the Series II Bond, and Stanbic IBTC Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Markets, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, and Vetiva Capital Management acted as Joint Issuing Houses.
On the public offer, Ukpanah said it is anticipated to open in November 2021 with a book build to institutional investors, after which a fixed price is expected to be announced for retail investors also in November 2021.
He added: “The Offer is expected to close in December 2021. This is the first step in MTN Group’s previously communicated statement of intent to sell down approximately 14 per cent of its current shareholding in MTN Nigeria.”