MTN Group President, Ralph Mupita, has announced that the company is planning a second public offer in Nigeria, by reducing its shareholding in MTN Nigeria once it returns to profitability.
Mupita said the Group plans to cut its stake from 75% to 65%, as part of a longstanding commitment to deepen local ownership.
Speaking during an editors’ roundtable, Mupita explained, “The only localisation we have as MTN Group is a potential sell-down in Nigeria at some point in time, approximately 11%. Over time, we want more Nigerians owning the company.”
This move would be MTN’s second major public offer in Nigeria. The first took place in 2021 when the Group sold 575 million shares of MTN Nigeria to local investors. That offer was oversubscribed, leading to the allocation of 661.25 million shares after exercising a 15% greenshoe option, reducing MTN’s stake from 78.8% to 75.6%. Over 126,000 investors, including pension funds representing 6.5 million Nigerians, participated.
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At that time, MTN announced it would eventually lower its shareholding to about 65%. However, Mupita emphasized that the new offer would only happen once MTN Nigeria resolves its negative equity position and resumes dividend payments.
As of now, MTN Nigeria’s shares are trading at N235 per share.
Despite generating a revenue of N3.36 trillion in 2024, a 36.03% increase from the previous year, MTN Nigeria posted a loss after tax of N400.44 billion, a 192.25% increase from 2023.
The losses were largely driven by economic challenges, including inflation and the devaluation of the naira, which raised operational costs and eroded investor value. As a result, MTN Nigeria has fallen behind MTN South Africa as the Group’s largest revenue contributor.
However, Mupita expressed optimism about a recovery in 2025. He cited positive developments such as tariff adjustments, operational restructuring, and improving macroeconomic conditions. He also highlighted reforms like fuel subsidy removal, naira stabilisation, and improved dollar availability as key factors expected to boost consumer spending and MTN Nigeria’s performance.
