A few weeks back, the MTN Nigeria entered into an agreement with the Nigeria Communications Commission to settle a billion-dollar fined slapped on the company. MTN was to pay a fine of $1.7 Billion which was to be paid over a period of three years. The company was also to abide by the compliance rules issued by the NCC in awarding of its license.
One other precondition set was that the South African company was to list on the Nigerian stock exchange as soon as possible. According to CNBC Africa, MTN Nigeria has begun taking measures to fulfill this commitment. MTN Nigeria aims for the listing to take place during 2017, subject to market conditions. The company has already appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, Standard Bank of South Africa as joint transaction advisers and Standard Advisory London, and Citigroup Global Markets as its global coordinators. Stanbic will act as the lead transaction issuer.
The fine slapped on MTN Nigeria resulted from failure by the telco to register sim cards despite an order by the NCC to do so. NCC slapped a fine of $5 Billion on MTN Nigeria for failure to register 5 Million of its 62 million customers. The fine was later slashed to $3.4 Billion prompting negotiations between the regulator and the telco.
