MTN has not submitted an application for an IPO in Nigeria, according to officials from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The announcement deflates reports in the local Business Daily that the operator group was ready to launch its highly anticipated Nigerian IPO after the SEC stalled its progress for six weeks – an allegation which the officials refuted, noting that no regulatory review had been conducted since no formal application had been registered from MTN.
A statement from the SEC said: “If MTN finally files a formal and complete application with the Commission, it would be treated with the usual diligence and urgency that is applicable to all such filings.”
In 2016, MTN agreed in with Nigerian regulators that it would launch an IPO for its local unit, but since then no details have been forthcoming. However, after the group released its Q1 results, CEO Rob Shuter stated that its Nigerian and Ghanaian units would be ready to list by the end of 2018. MTN Ghana listed at the end of May, indicating that a Nigerian float is in the pipeline.
