Last Thursday’s listing of MTN Nigeriashares on the Premium Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has made it possible to identify the shareholders of the telecoms firm.
Many Nigerians believed the Nigerian government owned part of the South African firm through an unspecified equity holding by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority(NSIA).
But a review of the listing memorandum filed by MTN Nigeria in support of its application for the enlistment of its shares on the NSE revealed the profiles of the shareholders of the company.
The list did not include either the Nigerian government or the NSIA. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the NSIA investment “is very small” and could not have been listed among those of the big players.
The document dated May 15, 2018, showed 11 owners of MTN Nigeria. They own the entire 20,354,513,050 Ordinary Shares of the company valued at about N407.1 billion as at the time MTN applied to be listed.
| S/No | Shareholder | No of Shares Held | Value of Shareholding N (000) | Percentage equity | Representative on the Board | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MTN International (Mauritius) Limited | 15485544050 | N309,710,881 | 0.7608 | ||
| 2 | Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited | 1988269050 | 39765381 | 0.0977 | ||
| 3 | Hermitage Overseas Corporation | 806886900 | 16137738 | 0.0396 | Victor Odili | Nigeria |
| 4 | Mobile Telephone Network N.I.C.B.V | 559720150 | 11194403 | 0.0275 | ||
| 5 | Government Employees Pension Fund (Represented by Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited) | 355281650 | 7105633 | 0.0175 | ||
| 6 | Celtelecom Investment Limited | 333474100 | 6669482 | 0.0164 | Pascal Dozie | Nigeria |
| 7 | One Africa Investment Limited | 265092150 | 5301843 | 0.013 | Sani Mohammed Bello | Nigeria |
| 8 | Universal Communications Ltd | 200526400 | 4010528 | 0.0099 | Babatunde Folawiyo | Nigeria |
| 9 | N-Cell Limited | 163487550 | 3269751 | 0.008 | Gbenga Onyebode | Nigeria |
| 10 | SASPV Limited | 144429000 | 2888580 | 0.0071 | Ahmed Dasuki | Nigeria |
| 11 | NISPV Limited | 51802050 | 1036041 | 0.0025 | Ahmed Dasuki | Nigeria |
| TOTAL | 20354513050 | N407,090,261 | 1 |
They include the majority shareholder, MTN International (Mauritius) Limited, which has the controlling 76.08 per cent equity, or 15,485,544,050 shares valued at about N309.71 billion, and Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited with 9.77 per cent stake or 1,988,269,050 shares valued at about N39.77 billion.
Also included are six Nigerians, who are non-executive directors of the board. Each represents various foreign interests in the company.
Source: premium Times
