A member of the transaction team of telecommunication giant, MTN’s IPO campaign, Guido Sopimmeh, has revealed that the Initial Public Offer (IPO) has recorded over 52,000 applicants in two weeks.
According to him, the figure, which outnumbers those in previous IPO’s in Ghana attests to the fact that Ghanaians believe and trust the MTN brand and are ready to be part of the success story of the company.
Mr. Sopimmeh made the revelation recently during a media briefing after the launch of the IPO in the Volta regional capital, Ho. The Volta regional launch was the last of 10 regional launches held by MTN as part of a nationwide drive to get subscribers and stakeholders understand what the IPO meant and how they could participate.
The IPO, which was officially launched on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 and expected to end on July 31, 2018 at 5pm, would give Ghanaians and the general public the opportunity to own 35 per cent shares of MTN Ghana.
The telecom giant is hoping to raise an amount of GH¢347 million from over 4.6 billion ordinary shares on offer at the cost of GH¢0.75p per share. The public can however buy the shares in multiples of 10 from some selected banks, selected MTN Ghana branches, IC Securities (Ghana) Limited, and through mobile money. Alternatively, one can enter the URL, mtnghanashares.com to purchase the shares.
Mr. Sopimmeh noted that after the IPO was first launched on May 29, interests have been overwhelming. He said out of the over 52,000 applications so far, 95% of them were made by mobile money users – another remarkable feat.
He said this population far outnumbers that of previous years. During the first two weeks of the previous years’ launch, the number of applicants summed up to 10,000 people. He was optimistic that the numbers could go up in the coming days.
The General Manager of MTN Business, Sam Addo, stressed that the IPO, which is in fulfillment of requirements attached to acquiring license for 4G spectrum, is meant to give Ghanaians the opportunity to own part of MTN. To this end, irrespective of the applications that come in, the board will consider the interests of Ghanaians first.
Another member of the transaction team, Priscilla Nortey, further explained that IPO was being managed by a good team that would use due process to ensure fair allocation of the shares, with Ghanaians as their priority. More so, the team is working in close contact with the regulatory authorities to ensure full compliance to laid-down processes and regulations, hence investors should be rest assured.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@yahoo.com)