In the first two weeks of December 2021, MTN Nigeria made a public offering to sell 575 million ordinary shares to Nigerians at the price of N169 per share, in what was referred to as another first for MTN in the Nigerian market. The move which is MTN’s way of broadening its local shareholder base afforded individual investors the opportunity to have a stake in one of the country’s most profitable businesses at an attractive entry price.
The Offer was 139% oversubscribed with a total of 802 million units by 126,813 investors, including the Nigerian retail and institutional investors. This led to the activation of the approved 15% greenshoe of an additional 86.25 million MTN Nigeria shares. As a result, 661.25 million MTN Nigeria shares were allotted, comprising the 575 million Offer shares and the 86.25 million greenshoe.
The MTN Public Offer is a landmark transaction which truly reflects investor confidence in MTN Nigeria. MTN Nigeria has proven that in 20 years it not only earned its place as the second largest company by market capitalization on the Nigeria Xchange Limited, it has also grown astronomically since inception in 2001 and has continued to dominate the telecommunications sector.
The Offer also marks the first time a digital application platform was used to democratize investing in a public offer and maximize investor participation across the country. PrimaryOffer was deployed across mobile and web platforms, which enabled wider investor participation across Nigeria. More than 74% of retail offer subscribers applied through the PrimaryOffer platform, and 111,366 new Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) accounts were opened seamlessly by investors who are first time capital market participants.
With over 6.6 million Nigerians directly or indirectly becoming shareholders in MTN Nigeria, the company’s objective of broadening the shareholder base, and creating shared value has been achieved.
The level of digital innovation leveraged for the Offer was made possible through the active collaboration of the participating issuing houses and the regulators. It involved a process to deepen retail participation in Nigeria’s capital markets and MTN Nigeria is off to a great start, demonstrating the role digital platforms can play in expanding access.
Approximately 76% of successful applicants from the digital platform are women and 85% are youths under the age of 40.
