MTN Public Offer oversubscription activates allocation of additional 86.25 million shares
MTN’s public offer of 575 million units of shares in Nigeria has recorded an over-subscription up to 139.47%. The Offer which commenced on the first day of December 2021, was completed on 14th December 2021.
The telecom leader revealed in a public statement that the offer was oversubscribed with valid applications for a total of 801.97 million units, which led to the activation of the approved 15% over-subscription clause of an additional 86.25 million MTN Nigeria shares.
The company further disclosed that in line with the innovative incentive structure of 1 free share for every 20 purchased, subject to a maximum of 250 free shares per investor, an additional 4.28 million MTN Nigeria shares will be allotted to qualifying investors who hold the shares allotted to them for 12 months till 31 January 2023.
MTN shared: “In all, 661.25 million MTN Nigeria shares were allotted. A total of 126,720 retail investors submitted valid applications and received full allotment; and institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, corporates, and foreign portfolio investors that participated in the bookbuild were allotted 72.09% of their applications.”
“The Offer is a landmark transaction and a true reflection of Nigerian investor confidence in MTN Nigeria. It marks the first time a digital application platform was used to democratize investing in a public offer and maximize investor participation across the country. More than 89% of retail offer subscribers applied through the PrimaryOffer platform (mobile and web), and 114,938 new Central Securities Clearing System (CSS) accounts were opened by first-time investors.”
The Offer was implemented by way of a bookbuild to qualified institutional investors and a fixed price offer to retail investors. This includes Nigerian pension funds representing approximately 6.5 million Nigerian contributors. Following the successful completion of the Offer, MN Group’s shareholding in MN Nigeria reduced by 3.25 percentage points, from 78.83% to 75.58%. In line with the innovative incentive structure of 1 free share for every 20 purchased, subject to a maximum of 250 free shares per investor, an additional 4.28 million MN Nigeria shares will be allotted to qualifying investors who hold the shares allotted to them for 12 months till 31 January 2023.
Ralph Mupita, CEO of MTN Group said: “We are pleased that this Offer has given so many Nigerians the opportunity to become owners of MTN Nigeria. With over 6.6 million Nigerians directly or indirectly becoming shareholders in MTN Nigeria, the objective of broadening the shareholder base, and creating shared value has been achieved. We are proud that our Offer was the first Nigerian public offer to use the digital application platform, PrimaryOffer, which enabled wider investor participation across Nigeria. We thank the Nigerian authorities for their support of this Offer. We remain committed to playing our humble role in driving digital and financial inclusion in Nigeria over the medium.”
Commenting on the Offer, Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria said: “We are delighted to welcome so many new shareholders to the MTN family, up 11.6 times from the number before the offer. It has been inspiring to see so many Nigerians, many of whom are young, acquire shares for the first time, and use a digital platform to do so. This is the beginning of a journey to broaden our shareholding and there will be more opportunities to participate. We are pleased with the level of digital innovation we championed with this offer with the active collaboration of our lead issuing house and the various regulatory bodies. Deepening retail participation in Nigeria’s capital markets is a process, and we are off to a great start, demonstrating the role digital platforms can play in expanding access. I am particularly pleased that we completed this transaction in an accelerated time frame ensuring new shareholders can realize value almost immediately through participation in our 2021 full-year dividend.
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