MTN Sells Cyprus Unit To Monaco Telecom

Multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN said on Tuesday that it had concluded the sale of 100 percent of MTN Cyprus to Monaco Telecom.

MTN announced on July 16 that its wholly owned subsidiary, MTN Dubai, had entered into an agreement for the deal.

“Shareholders are advised that this transaction is now concluded for proceeds of R4.5 billion, paid upfront in cash,” it said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that MTN may receive a naira-denominated refund if Africa’s biggest wireless carrier returned the $8 billion (R120bn) that Nigeria says was illegally taken out of the country.

The South African phone company must bring back the cash after it and three banks “flagrantly violated foreign-exchange violations”, Nigeria Central Bank Deputy Governor Joseph Nnanna said by text message Sunday, reiterating a Wednesday order.

The lenders have been hit with a combined $16 million fine for their role in the transactions, which happened over eight years through 2015. – IOL