MTN shares slump after Nigeria suspends $3.9bn fine talks

MTN Group shares fell after Nigeria suspended talks about a $3.9bn fine on the South African mobile-phone company while the country’s House of Representatives completes an investigation into the nature of the penalty. The stock declined as much as 2.9%, the most since May 12, and traded 1.5% lower at R126.50 as of 10:23 am in Johannesburg, valuing the company at R233bn. The shares have plunged almost 35% since the fine, originally set at $5.2bn was levied in October.
“Any delays in finding a resolution for the MTN fine will play into trading and keep MTN’s share price suppressed,” Peter Takaendesa, an analyst at Mergence Investment Managers, said by phone from Cape Town on Monday. “The big event to watch this week will be MTN’s annual general meeting, where the market might also get additional clarity.”
Nigeria’s decision to put talks on hold will frustrate Johannesburg-based MTN as it seeks to resolve a fine that was levied for missing a deadline to disconnect customers deemed unregistered in the country, which is battling an Islamist insurgency. The company’s stock decline has cost MTN the title of Africa’s biggest wireless company by market capitalisation, losing it to crosstown rival Vodacom Group.
“MTN cautions shareholders not to make any decisions based on media reports,” spokesperson Chris Maroleng said in e-mailed comments. Investors will be informed of any update to the fine negotiations via the stock exchange news service, he said.
The Nigerian lawmakers “have set up a committee to investigate the MTN saga and they are still on it,” Victor Oluwadamilare, spokesman for Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, said by phone from Abuja, the capital, on Friday. “Until they are through with it, nothing can be done.”
Executive Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko returned to the helm in November for a six-month term to resolve the crisis, yet he remains in charge having not fulfilled his mandate. He will address shareholders at the annual meeting in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“The federal government, the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Ministry of Communications can do nothing about the MTN case until the committee concludes its thorough investigation,” Oluwadamilare said. “There’s no point dealing with a particular organization from different fronts. It would be counter-productive.”
MTN’s last reported offer was to pay $1.5bn in a combination of staggered cash payments, sovereign debt purchases and access to its network. The company is Nigeria’s biggest mobile-phone company, and in turn the country is the largest of MTN’s 22 markets across Africa and the Middle East.
“This suggests that MTN might still be stuck in limbo, and that is not a good thing for them,” Dobek Pater, managing director at Johannesburg-based Africa Analysis, said by phone. “Suggestions were that the negotiations were going on in a positive path for MTN, especially when the company received that first reduction. Now, with the investigation the process is back to the unknown.”