MTN Uganda Limited has announced the offering of a portion of its ordinary shares (up to 1,574,807,373 shares) to Ugandan investors. SBG Securities Uganda Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited, is acting as the lead sponsoring broker for this MTN Uganda share offering.
This share offering follows the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) regulations, specifically Rule 15(a) of the 2021 Listing Rules. This rule allows existing shareholders of listed companies to sell shares directly to the public on the secondary market. The USE has approved this offering to proceed.
MTN Uganda commenced trading on the USE Main Investment Market Segment on December 6, 2021. This followed a successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) conducted in a month before. At the time it was second telecommunications company in the region, after Safaricom PLC, to be publicly traded. Airtel Uganda joined this list last year after its own IPO.
MTN Uganda’s current share offering has two key objectives. Firstly, it aligns with MTN’s goal of expanding Ugandan ownership within the company. This provides a chance for both individual (retail) and institutional (professional) Ugandan investors to acquire shares.
Secondly, the offering fulfils regulatory requirements outlined in the company’s national telecommunications operator license, the National Broadband Policy 2018, and Uganda Communications Commission regulations. The regulations mandates telecommunication companies to offer their shares to the public.
“The telecom companies should offer 30% of their shares to the public through a primary offer that is ring-fenced to Ugandan/East African nationals and institutions,” state the regulations.
MTN Uganda Share Ownership
In the initial IPO, the company had floated 20% of its shares. The Ugandan telco is owned by the MTN Group who have a stake of 83.04 percent, National Social Security Fund Uganda has 9.159 %, Government of Uganda has only 0.1876 %, Duet Asset Management Ltd has 0.1340 and Firstrand Limited has 0.0983 %. Long term shareholder Mr Charles Mbire’s stake now stands at four percent.
The company was founded in 1998 and is currently led by a Kenyan CEO Ms. Sylvia Mulinge. Trading is open to the public from Monday, 27 May 2024 to Monday, 10 June 2024. The minimum investment is 1400 shares. The price per share is KES 8,450 in Kenya and Ugx 238,000 in Uganda. This opportunity is open to all East African investors. If you’re in Kenya, Dyer & Blair or Old Mutual are the go to companies.
