MTN Nigeria, the largest telecommunications company listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, has successfully completed the issuance of N110 billion Series 1 7-Year 13.0% Fixed Rate Bonds due 2028, under its N20 billion Bond Issuance Programme.
According to a notice signed by the company’s secretary, Uto Ukpanah, and seen by Naijabusiness.com.ng, the Series 1 bond is the largest corporate bond issuance in the debt capital markets so far and MTN Nigeria’s debut in the domestic bond market.
The milestone achievement is sequel to an already established presence of the telecommunications firm in the commercial paper market. Recall that few weeks ago, the firm announced that it had raised a total sum of N73.5 billion through its Series III and Series IV CP Issuance Programme.
Consolidating on its success in the commercial paper market, the firm decided to further expand its scope in the domestic debt capital market, thus birthing the recent milestone bond issuance.
READ: Increase in data and voice revenue drive MTN profit by 42.5% to N73.75 billion
Commenting on the recent bond issuance, Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria 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.’’
The Series 1 bond avails the opportunity for MTN Nigeria to diversify its funding sources and also reflects its market leadership cum strong credit quality. In light of this, the telecommunications giant revealed that the net proceeds from the bond issuance will partly be used to refinance existing debt and support the rollout of critical network infrastructure.
What you need to know:
• 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.
