CBN confirms report on sale of 9mobile to bidders

*NCC okays 9mobile

The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has confirmed Daily Times report that advisers had been appointed to manage the sale of 9mobile, which is the fourth-largest mobile operator in the country.

Emefiele made this position known while fielding questions from journalists after briefing them on the outcome of the meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja, adding that 9mobile’s revenue was stable and it made N16bn in June, and had not lost subscribers due to its debt crisis.

He said the advisers would organise a tender to request proposals from prospective investors without providing a timeline, but added that the management of the telecoms company by its interim board should not last more than 90 to 180 days.

Emefiele, explained that the CBN’s role in the 9Mobile’s (formerly Etisalat) debt crisis was aimed at safeguarding the interest of over 20 million subscribers and more than 4,000 employees of the network operator.

He stated that the CBN’s intervention alongside the regulator in the telecommunication’s sector was worth the while, considering the ripple effect not doing so would have had on major stakeholders in particular and the economy as a whole.

The apex bank boss said with a subscriber base in excess of 20 million and a workforce of more than 4,000, any likely adverse impact, directly or indirectly, would have been enormous to bear by the subscribers, workers and their dependants.

In his words: “It’s important that we don’t just allow any creditor to hurt any other stakeholder,” he said, adding that the NCC had observed that the attempt by the creditors to take over the telco was going to jeopardise the interest of the over 20 million subscribers and more than 4,000 workers.

“That was why the NCC, supported by the CBN decided to intervene,” Emefiele said, noting that the intervention had been positive.

He affirmed that 9Mobile has not only retained its subscribers, but also the entire workforce while the company’s operations have continued and revenue sustained.

He stated that the interim board would not exceed 180 days as efforts were underway for a new investor to acquire the company.

The CBN Governor also said that 9Mobile’s revenue was stable and it made N16 billion in June, adding that the advisers – Citi and Standard Bank – appointed by the telecoms firm would organise a tender to request proposals from prospective investors, but did not provide a timeline how longer the investor sale would take.

It will be recalled that the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC had earlier intervened to save the company from collapse and prevent creditors from putting it into receivership, leading to a change in its board and management, as well as the new name 9mobile.

Meanwhile, as this issue is trending, 9mobile has declined to comment on this development while Citigroup, Standard Bank, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Orange were not immediately available to comment on same issue.

In a related development, the NCC in statement signed Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs, NCC and made available to Daily Times, quoted the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, as saying that the Commission also intervened to safeguard investors, employees and subscribers.

“The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), took the interest of investors, subscribers and employees of Etisalat into consideration to align with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in order to resolve the issues of Etisalat Nigeria (now 9Mobile) and consortium of 13 banks,” the statement said.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta declared this when he received in audience Chief Executive of 9Mobile, Mr. Boye Olusanya, and Vice-President, (Regulatory Affairs) Mr Ibrahim Dikko in his office in Abuja.

Danbatta said, “the over $2B Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), by Mubadala of United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hanging, while 20million Subscribers and over 2000 workers would have been affected if we did not intervene in the matter with a view to finding an amicable resolution”

Resolving the issue was also partly to forestall any form of disincentive to the FDI, Danbatta explained.

According to him, if the company had gone under, this would have created a social problem especially with the job of over 2,000 Nigerians on the line. He added that such a situation was capable of creating security challenges for the Country.

Danbatta further stated that NCC collaborated with CBN to avert a looming economic disaster, adding: “we want to see a viable and thriving 9Mobile and we want to cooperate with you so that things can move seamlessly and be successful”, he said.

Danbatta further assured the 9mobile team of the Commission’s cooperation to grow its network.
Earlier, the Chief Executive of 9Mobile, Mr. Boye Olusanya, thanked the EVC and the NCC’s management for its cooperation that led to a seamless change and asked for concessions especially in the area of spectrum assignment, revisit of data floor price, review of interconnect rates to asymmetric platform, concessional foreign exchange access, national roaming and others “in order for 9Mobile to shore up its revenue and meet its financial obligations accordingly.”