MTN Nigeria issues N110bn first telco bond

May 10, 2021 11:52 am

MTN Nigeria says it has successfully completed the issuance of N110 billion fixed rate bond due in 2028, under its N200 billion bond issuance programme.

Bonds are investment securities where an investor lends money to a company or a government for a set period of time, in exchange for regular interest payments. At maturity date, the principal amount is paid back in full or risk default.

The bond by MTN Nigeria is the first telecommunications company bond issued in Nigeria and the largest corporate bond issuance in the debt capital markets thus far in 2021.

The total value of orders received during the book build was N132.151 billion, representing a 1.32 times oversubscription of the intended N100 billion issuance.

The signing ceremony took place at MTN’s corporate head office on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

Chapel Hill Advisory was the lead issuing house while Stanbic IBTC Capital, DLM Advisory, FCMB Capital Market, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank and Vetva Capital Management served as joint issuing houses.

Commenting on the success of bond issuance, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, said: “We live in testing times and we can’t take for granted that we work in an industry that first of all allows us to enhance and serve the society and allows us to continue to sustain ourselves, our families and contribute a great share to the federal government of Nigeria’s economic development policies.”

In his remark, Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Chapel Hill Denham (the lead issuing house), said: “We are extremely thankful to MTN Nigeria for the opportunity to deliver on a transaction of this magnitude especially in difficult market and economic conditions.”

“We are proud to be associated with MTN’s success story. It is the second largest bond issuance in our market and the largest issuance this year. In the coming days, it will be clear that we all did some incredible work together. I am really proud to have worked with all of these colleagues that you chose to work alongside with us.”