MTN Closes in on Tower Deal Amid Wider Breakup

South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, MTN is set to complete the sale and leaseback of South African towers by the end of September, while a separation of both the fintech and fibre units is also underway as the wireless carrier strives to pay down debt.

The statement was sighted in reports by Bloomberg saying MTN tower deal could generate as much as 11 billion rand ($747 million). The fintech move is due to be finalized by March and fibre over the next two years, MTN said in a statement.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said: “We have received binding bids for our South African towers.”

MTN is more than two years into a transformational breakup project, shedding assets and exiting markets to focus on core businesses around the continent.

A key aspect is to cease operations in the Middle East, and MTN has abandoned its Syrian business as regulatory demands prevented a more orthodox exit, the group said. It’s weighing options to exit Yemen and Afghanistan, Mupita said.

MTN also confirmed it is not going to resubmit a bid for a new license in Ethiopia, which is opening up the market to international operators for the first time.

A previous offer by the carrier and various partners was rejected by the Ethiopian government.

MTN sales grew by 2.1% in the six months through June, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 6.6%. The group outperformed in its home market of South Africa, where revenue gained 12%.

The carrier cut debt to 36.7 billion rand from about 43.3 billion rand. MTN has repatriated 7 billion rand this year from Nigeria, where it has historically been hard to extract cash due to a lack of foreign exchange.

August 14, 2021