MTN Nigeria begins largest debut Commercial Paper Issuance by a Nigerian Corporate
MTN Nigeria Communications PLC (“MTN Nigeria” or the “Company”) hereby notifies The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the investing public of the successful issuance of N100 billion Series I & II Notes under the debut N100 Billion Commercial Paper (“CP”) Programme. MTN Nigeria priced the Series I 180 day CP at an effective yield of 4.90% for a N20 billion size and the Series II 270 day CP sized at N80 billion cleared at an effective yield of 5.95%.
We initially set out to issue up to N50 billion under the N100 billion CP Programme but, at the conclusion of the book build, the CP Issuance was c.400% subscribed. Given the significantly over-subscribed book, MTN Nigeria opted to issue up to the N100 billion limit of the registered CP Programme, with active participation from a diverse orbit of eligible individual and institutional investors, which include pension fund administrators, asset managers, corporates and other financial institutions.
The level of interest in MTN Nigeria’s debut in the Nigerian Debt Markets (as measured by the volume and value of bids), is a strong reflection of investor confidence in MTN Nigeria’s ability to continue to deliver on its strategic objectives and maintain market leadership, as well as the strong credit profile that supports the Company’s ability to meet its debt service obligations.
Commenting at the closure of the Book Build Ferdinand Moolman, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The N100 Billion issued is the largest debut Commercial Paper issuance by a Nigerian corporate. It allows us to broaden our sources of funding and combines our established lines of credit with access to capital market funding, which will lower our overall cost of borrowing.”
The proceeds from the CP Issuance will be applied towards MTN Nigeria’s working capital and general corporate purposes. The Series I & II Notes will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
Chapel Hill Denham acted as Arranger and Dealer on this debut Commercial Paper transaction.
