MTN Nigeria has announced the successfully issuance of a N110 billion Series 1 7-Year 13.0% Fixed Rate Bonds due 2028, under its N20 billion Bond Issuance Programme.
This is according to a disclosure issued by the telecommunications giant and signed by its secretary, Uto Ukpanah.
According to the disclosure, the Series 1 bond is the first ever teleco bond in Nigeria and the largest corporate bond issued in the domestic capital markets so far, it is a debut listing for the telecommunications giant.
Reacting to the recent development, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola said: ‘’ ’We are very proud of this landmark transaction, which is the first ever teleco bond issued in Nigeria and the largest corporate bond issuance this year. 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 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.’’
Accordingly, the net proceeds from the bond issuance will partly be used to refinance existing debt and support the roll out of critical network infrastructure.
What you should know:
- Recall that MTN Nigeria had earlier announced raising the sum of N73.5 billion through its Series III and Series IV CP Issuance Programme.
- As regards the recent bond issuance, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited acted as the Lead Issuing House while Stanbic IBTC Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Markets, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and Vetiva Capital Management acted as Joint Issuing Houses.
- The book build process in respect of the transaction launched on 9th of April and was completed on 16th of April, 2021.