MTN Group detailed plans for the public sale of shares in its Nigeria business later this month, while revealing it was also in the process of finalising a deal to sell-off tower assets in South Africa.

As part of its Q3 trading update the operator group outlined plans to list 575 million shares in MTN Nigeria, around 3 per cent of the company, with the offer set to be opened later this month. It intends to close the process in December.

Shares in MTN Nigeria are already listed on the Lagos stock exchange following an earlier placement. At the unit’s closing market price yesterday (3 November) the value of the 575 million shares set to be sold would be around $246 million.

In a statement it noted it was the “first step in our previously communicated statement of intent to sell down approximately 14 per cent of MTN Group’s current shareholding in MTN Nigeria.”

Alongside plans to sell further shares in Nigeria, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita (pictured) pointed to success in its “asset realisation programme and portfolio optimisation priorities”. Included in this is the ongoing IPO of 20 per cent of business in Ghana and cash raised from the listing of IHS Towers in October.

It noted its South Africa business was also making “good progress” on the sale and lease back of tower assets.

In its trading update, which provides selected figures for its operations in the nine months to end-September, MTN revealed service revenue of ZAR125 billion ($8.2 billion) up 19 per cent on the same period of 2020.

Revenue from data and financial technology services both increased by around 35 per cent year-on-year.