MTN Nigeria completes N200bn bond issuance programme

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has announced the successful completion of the issuance of its N89.99 billion Series II 10-Year 12.75 per cent Fixed Rate Bonds due 2031.

The company disclosed in a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday in Lagos.

It said that the issuance was under the N200 billion Bond Issuance Programme.

According to the notice, the bonds issued this year are in line with the company’s strategy to enable it diversify funding sources and extend the maturity profit of its debt portfolio.

It added that the Series II Bond, which was the second issuance in the year by the company following the successful debut in May, completes MTN Nigeria’s N200 billion Bond issuance programme, which was fully subscribed.

The company said that the book build process commenced on Oct. 8 and was completed on Oct. 15, and was well received with active participation from a diverse range of high value investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, financial institutions among others.

It said that during the book build, the total value of subscriptions received peaked at N133.45 billion representing a 1.48 times over subscription, as a result, the Series II Bond was launched at a clearing coupon of 12.75 per cent with N89.99 billion in qualified bids.

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Karl Toriola, said in the notice: “We continue to be grateful for the immense investor support, as the domestic debt capital market has yet again given us the opportunity to raise long-term financing to aid investments in our network.”

“In line with the company’s strategy, the bonds issued this year enable us to diversify funding sources and extend the maturity profit of the company’s debt portfolio.”

“We are very proud of this landmark transaction and thank the investor community for their continued confidence in MTN Nigeria’s long-term strategy, our management team and the overall Telecom’s industry,” he said.

According to the notice, Chalet Hill Dedham Advising Limited acted as the Lead Issuing House while Stanbic Ibtc Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Markets, FBBQuest Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and Vetiva Capital Management acted as Joint Issuing Houses.

It also stated that the successful Series II Bond Issuance reflected MTN Nigeria’s strong credit ratings which was recently upgraded to AAA, investors confidence in its ability to maintain market leadership in the domestic capital market.

The net proceeds would be used to optimise MTN Nigeria’s capital structure and finance network expansion.