MTN is to sell its stakes in investment fund Amadeus and online platform Travelstart, in line with its plan to raise ZAR15 billion ($1 billion) through asset sales over the next three years.
The company, which is holding a Capital Markets Day with investors today (28 May), said it would sell its interests in both companies to global private equity firm HarbourVest for a total of ZAR1.2 billion, BusinessDay reported.
The deals are expected to close in three months, and aside from raising funds, MTN said the move helps it to simplify its portfolio and reduce risk.
In March 2019, the operator group announced intentions to sell ZAR15 billion worth of assets in the period to 2022, following a wider strategic review that will also see it launch a barrage of new services across its markets.
MoMo market place
To that end, the company also revealed plans to build a new app which will allow customers to buy a number of different products and services, such as insurance and washing machines, through its mobile money platform MoMo.
Reuters reported that MTN wants to enable payments to merchants and companies through MoMo, and then expand this by selling third party and MTN’s products through the new app, dubbed “Market Place”.
As part of its ambitions to diversify from traditional telecoms services, MTN has branched out in recent years to music streaming, messaging and fintech.
MTN’s announcements followed news that the company is facing a probe in Nigeria following its listing in the country.
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission requested additional information and documentation, after MTN held its long-awaited listing on 16 May.
MTN said it had secured all necessary regulatory approval to trade its stock and had not been accused of wrongdoing.
However, Bloomberg reported its head office in Nigeria was raided by the financial crimes agency, in connection with the investigation.
MTN has faced a number of issues with regulators in Nigeria, its biggest market, over the years.
Source: mobileworldlive
