South African telecoms firm MTN to list Nigerian business

South African telecoms firm MTN has appointed Nigerian investment firm Chapel Hill Denham as lead manager for the initial public offering (IPO) of its Nigerian business in Lagos later this year.

MTN said that IPO plans were well advanced and the company would provide exact terms in the next few months. According to pre-IPO documents seen in February, MTN aims to list its Nigerian unit worth $5.23 billion by July and raise funds to cut debt.

It plans to raise at least $400 million from the IPO to pay preference shareholders and go on a roadshow between May and June.

Africa's biggest telecoms firm had planned to list its Nigerian unit in 2017, as part of a settlement with the Nigerian government over unregistered SIM cards for which it was fined $1.7 billion fine.