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Johannesburg - MTN Group plans to meet fixed-income investors in the UK and the US to gauge interest in a possible offering of dollar-denominated bonds by Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company by sales.
The wireless operator has mandated Barclays Bank Plc, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Standard Bank Group to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings starting September 9, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The bond offering “is expected to follow subject to market conditions,” the carrier said.
MTN’s move to attract funding comes after the company reported its first-ever half-year loss earlier this month, partly caused by an agreement to settle a record 330 billion naira ($1 billion) fine by Nigerian regulators.
The subscriber base of 233 million didn’t grow during the six months through June, while MTN is struggling to repatriate R15.4bn ($1.1 billion) it has tied up in its Iran unit.
The shares fell 2.6% to R117.58 as of 14:01 in Johannesburg, the lowest price since January. They have declined about 38% since October 26, when the Nigeria fine was first reported.
MTN issued a $750m note in 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It matures in 2024.
