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MTN agrees to pay N330 billion in final settlement of Nigeria fine
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- The deal requires MTN to pay N30 billion in July 2016 and another N30 billion in March 2017.
MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile operator, has reached a deal with the Nigerian government to pay N330 billion ($1.67 billion) over three years to settle a fine imposed on the company for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers.
In a statement released to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Friday, MTN said the deal requires the company to pay N30 billion in July 2016 and another N30 billion in March 2017.
The company will then pay N55 billion in four tranches in March 2018, December 2018, March 2019, and December 2019. MTN said the N50 billion payment it made in good faith in February this year also forms part of the deal.
“MTN Nigeria undertakes to take immediate steps to ensure the listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as soon as commercially and legally possible after the date of execution of the settlement agreement,” MTN said.
Since October last year, MTN has been trying to resolve its dispute with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) over the telecom company’s failure to disconnect five million unregistered phone lines which resulted in a $5.2 billion fine imposed by the regulator. The fine was subsequently cut by 25 percent to $3.9 billion.
The South African company had sued the NCC over the fine, but later hired Eric Holder, a former US Attorney General, to negotiate an out-of-court settlement.
In a letter dated February 24, 2016, Holder, on behalf of MTN, had offered to pay N300 billion to settle the NCC fine. The offer comprised N100 billion in five annual installments, N80 billion worth of Nigerian sovereign bonds, and N70 billion naira worth of access to MTN’s fibre network. This offer appears to have been rejected by the Nigerian government.
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