Menu

MTN Nigeria has announced the successful issuance of a N110 billion Series 1, seven-year corporate bond at 13.0 per cent fixed rate, due in 2028. The Series I bond was issued under the mobile telecom company’s N200 billion bond issuance programme.

According to a statement sent to Financial Nigeria today, the issuance was MTN Nigeria’s debut in the domestic bond market and the first corporate bond to be issued by a Nigerian telecommunication company. The signing ceremony for the bond took place at MTN’s corporate head office in Lagos on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

“We are extremely thankful to MTN Nigeria for the opportunity to deliver on a transaction of this magnitude especially in difficult market and economic conditions,” said Bolaji Balogun, CEO, Chapel Hill Denham, the lead issuing house/bookrunner) for the bond, during the signing ceremony. “We are proud to be associated with the MTNN’s success story. It is the second largest bond issuance in our market and the largest issuance this year.”
 
Also commenting on the issuance, Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, said “We live in testing times and we can’t take for granted that we work in an industry that first of all allows us to enhance and serve the society and allows us to continue to sustain ourselves, our families and contribute a great share to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s economic development policies.”

Toriola said the bond will help to secure the future of MTN Nigeria in terms of having predictable funding and cost of capital structure, going forward. He said the issuance will also help in diversifying MTN Nigeria’s funding sources.

Stanbic IBTC Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Markets, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, and Vetiva Capital Management acted as joint issuing houses for the bond.