The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has revealed that, MTN Nigeria Limited, is yet to file an application for an initial public offering (IPO).
Local media reported last week that the Nigerian branch of the South African telecom provider was ready to list its shares in August on the Nigerian Stock Exchange after a 6-week delay by the SEC.
The regulator refuted the reports in a statement released on Sunday, claiming them to be “false, misleading and without merit.”
“As at the date of this circular, neither MTN Nigeria Limited nor any of its advisers or representatives has filed any application with the SEC regarding the said IPO”, the SEC said.
“Given that there is no application from MTN before the Commission, there could not have been a request by MTN or any of its representatives or advisers requiring any form of regulatory review.”
According to pre-IPO documents seen by Reuters in February, MTN planned to debut on the stock exchange by July and raise at least $400 million to cut debt for its Nigeria unit, valued then at $5.23 billion.
Sources say the company wants to issue shares electronically which has not been done before in Nigeria and will need new systems put in place to allow it.
The South Africa-based telecom provider; as part of a settlement with the Nigerian government over unregistered SIM cards, for which it was fined $1.7 billion, had planned to list its Nigerian unit in 2017.
The IPO however was delayed due to market conditions.
By:ClaraDoku/techvoiceafrica.com
