MTN Group’s Ghanaian unit appointed local brokerage IC Securities Ghana as its main sponsor for an upcoming initial public offering in the West African nation, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Africa’s biggest mobile phone company by subscribers is preparing to raise as much as 2bn cedis (R5.2bn) through listing 35% of the subsidiary on the Ghana Stock Exchange in what will be the largest share sale in the country’s history. The sale will help MTN meet conditions agreed to in 2015 when it acquired the right to use spectrum that can carry high-speed mobile data for customers.
MTN and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the market regulator, are still in talks to finalise the sale’s prospectus, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because a public announcement hasn’t been made. MTN is expected to submit a final draft within two weeks, they said.
IC Securities MD Kwabena Osei-Boateng didn’t respond to e-mailed questions and wasn’t immediately available to take a call for comment. Pala Asiedu-Ofori, senior manager for MTN Ghana’s corporate services office, declined to comment to a text message.
MTN was granted a 15-year licence for 4G spectrum on condition that Ghanaian investors own 35% of the business.
IC Securities was the main sponsor for an initial public offering by Agricultural Development Bank Ghana which raised 326m cedis in December 2016. — Reported by Moses Mozart Dzawu, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP