Namibia’s Largest Wireless Carrier to Raise $212 Million in IPO

Namibia’s largest mobile-phone company is set to raise N$3.1 billion ($212 million) from the sale a minority stake on the southern African country’s stock exchange, the largest in the bourse’s history.

Mobile Telecommunications Ltd. will list in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, in November, according to a prospectus released this week. MTC, as the carrier is known, will dispose of a 49% stake and sell shares at $8.50 each, it said.

State-owned Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings will retain majority ownership after the listing.

The move represents a rare initial public offering in Africa, which has largely missed out on a global surge of listings so far this year. Interest has recently picked up from wireless carriers in particular, with Telkom SA SOC Ltd. of South Africa saying Tuesday it planned to list a tower portfolio in Johannesburg.

IHS Holding Ltd., a pan-African telecom-tower company, is gearing up for an IPO in New York after abandoning an earlier effort last year.

Source: Bloomberg