Shanduka buys minority stake in MTN Nigeria

MTN Nigeria. There is a BusinessDay article by Sure Kamhunga this morning which is suggesting that MTN International are selling part of a stake in their business in Nigeria to the Shanduka group. I can't find anything on either the MTN Nigeria website, under press releases or the MTN group website either. Sure's article, which you can find here: Ramaphosa's Nigeria deal raises eyebrows, does not give the minority stake percentage, but does give the price, 335 million US dollars. Which is nearly three billion Rands at the current exchange rate, that is a lot of money. As Paul said in the office, he is a little disappointed that MTN are selling a stake in a very profitable and exciting business. Not so much the issues around whether or not the right partners are involved, just you would think that MTN should keep on the stake.


There is however a short piece on the Shanduka website: Shanduka Group advances African growth strategy through acquisition of a stake in MTN Nigeria. The only reason why I am as keen as beans to find out the percentage that Shanduka have bought, is that of course it would be nice to get a valuation of the business. The group itself, Shanduka is a little too diversified for my liking, but hey, what does my opinion matter, that is an issue for their shareholders. In fact you can see all the parts of Shanduka under their Our Business section. Shareholders, as per the Shanduka website include over 200 thousand historically disadvantaged individuals. I wonder when the entity will list, or will it take some time, perhaps another half a decade or so. I guess we have to be patient on the MTN stake, maybe we will get more clarity in the next annual report. Hopefully sooner.