Airtel Africa on Thursday said it has successfully increased its shareholding in the Nigeria’s operations to 99.96 percent after it acquired the 8.22 percent minority shareholdings in the local firm.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Airtel Africa, which is quoted on the domestic bourse said it paid a total of N61 billion to buy back the minority stakes in the local telecom firm. The telecom firm announced to investors and brokers through the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that, “Airtel Africa now holds 99.96% ownership over its largest subsidiary.’
The telecom firm said in the regulatory filing that; “Further to the buyout offer announcement of 4 October 2021, Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, today announces the completion of the minority shareholding buyback of Airtel Networks Limited (‘Airtel Nigeria’), a subsidiary of Airtel Africa plc and a leading provider of telecommunication services in Nigeria. “The total consideration for the 8.22 percent minority shareholdings acquired under the buyback is NGN61bn, equivalent to $147 million using an exchange rate of 415.07 NGN/USD.
Airtel Africa now holds 99.96% ownership over its largest subsidiary,” the statement signed by Group Company Secretary, Simon O’Hara said. Unlike its counterpart, MTN Group which is selling down its stake in the local operations, Airtel readily increased its stake in its largest subsidiary. Nigeria is the largest market for both MTN Group and Airtel Africa with their Nigerian operations accounting for the bulk of their revenues.
*Global financial digest
