MTN Group is considering the sale of its stake in Botswana’s largest wireless carrier, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could raise R2.5-billion.
Browsing: Rob Shuter
Uganda has deported the CEO of MTN’s Ugandan subsidiary, less than a month after the East African country did the same to its chief marketing officer, its head of sales and distribution, and its head of mobile financial services.
African online retailer Jumia is planning an initial public offering in New York this year that could value the business at about $1.5-billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
MTN Uganda is in talks to sell an unspecified stake to the state-run National Social Security Fund that would widen local shareholding currently at only 5%, President Yoweri Museveni’s office said.
MTN Group on Wednesday confirmed reports that three senior managers have been arrested and deported by the Ugandan government.
Eight MTN Group executives netted over 1.3 million shares in the telecommunications giant, valued at R116.9-million at the market price when they were issued at the end of December.
MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter has been granted more than R38-million in shares under the telecommunications operator’s performance share plan. The shares will vest in three years’ time.
Christmas has come early for MTN Group. The telecommunications operator’s shares are likely to soar when markets reopen on Thursday in Johannesburg after it announced it has settled a multibillion-dollar dispute in Nigeria.
The group’s chief innovation officer, Herman Singh, is expected to leave to start his own tech venture, sources said, following chief technology officer Babak Fouladi out the door.
MTN Group is making “great progress” with Nigerian authorities in talks about US$10.1-billion in claims, encouraging Africa’s largest wireless carrier that it can settle the long-running dispute out of court.