Telecoms company MTN Nigeria has issued a N110 billion bond as it seeks to manage its debt and finance infrastructure investment.
The Nigerian subsidiary of South Africa telecommunications company MTN has issued a fixed rate bond worth N110 billion ($266 million).
Headquartered in Lagos, MTN Nigeria Communications made the issue as part of its wider N200 billion ($484 million) bond issuance programme. It is the first such issuance to be made by a telecoms company in Nigeria, and is the largest corporate bond issue in the debt capital market in 2021 to date.
In a statement, MTN Nigeria chief executive Karl Toriola said: “The domestic debt capital market has given us the opportunity to further diversify our funding sources and extend the maturity of our debt portfolio and profile to match investment in infrastructure.”
The company said the funds would be used to refinance debt and “support the roll out of critical network infrastructure”.
The book building began on 9 April and was oversubscribed by 1.32 times. The lead issuing house was Nigerian investment bank Chapel Hill Denham Advisory, joined by fellow Nigerian issuing houses Stanbic IBTC Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Markets, FBNQuest Merchant Bank and Vetiva Capital Management, and South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank.
MTN was advised on the issuance by partners Kofo Dosekun and Ayodeji Oyetunde of Nigerian law firm Aluko & Oyebode, supported by associates Chiderah Azodoh and Damilola Adesanya.
“The strong support for this transaction, given the challenging environment, is a reflection of the depth of the market, and investor confidence in MTN Nigeria’s long-term strategy, our management team, and the overall telecoms industry,” Toriola added.
