BARCLAYS Africa has officially written to Teleology Holding Limited, informing the company that it is the preferred bidder for the 9mobile sale.
In the letter sent to Teleology holdings yesterday February 21, Barclays Africa, the financial adviser to the consortium of banks owed $1.2 billion dollars by 9mobile (formerly Etisalat) directed Teleology Holdings to make a non-refundable cash deposit of $50 million within 21 days from the date of the letter or lose the bid to the reserve bidder, Smile Holdings Limited.
Nigeria network operators Globacom and Airtel were in the running for the rival network.
Though Globacom an Helios Investment Partners LLP submitted bids, they did not make any financial offer for the troubled telco.
Airtel later pulled Airtel because according to industry “many things are not too plain with the entire process”.
“Airtel believes too many things are hidden about the health of 9mobile, and that it is too risky for anyone to buy the company.’
Teleology’s operational team comprises the second CEO of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Adrian Wood, who managed Nigeria’s biggest telecoms company from 2001 to 2004, after the first CEO, Mr. Karel Piennar.
Wood, who is the face of Teleology Holdings, is the chairman of the telecoms company, with over 30 years’ experience in the global telecoms sector.
Teleology Group CEO is Sven-Axel Brudnicki, with over 20 years’ experience as telecom executive with international leadership across two continents.
The first Nigerian CEO of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Michael Ikpoki, is the legal and regulatory, sales and distribution director of Teleology, while the former Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Demola Elesho, is the Chief Technical Officer of Teleology.
Elesho is a specialist in network re-engineering and large scale deployments and has worked for Multi-Links Telecom, MTS, Vodafone Spain, MTN, Airtouch USA, BT and Cellnet.
The Chief Financial Officer is Mr. Kemal Shefik, who has over 30 years’ experience in finance and strategy executive with extensive international experience on three continents.
Other team members include Mr. Paul Crosa as sales, marketing, MFS, commercial strategy, with over 20 years’ experience in commercial executive with international background across Africa and Latin America.
Richard Noren is the procurement, supply chain, systems manager with over 20 years’ experience in procurement, logistics and supply chain executive with international management roles across three continents.
Rodney Wayne is the finance, internal auditor, and Terry Moorhead is the chief network architect with over 40 years’ experience, while Robert Gerrity is the Enterprise, B2B and Multimedia Solutions Manager.
Spectrum Wireless, a shareholder of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service (EMTS) — which owns the 9mobile licence — went to court against United Capital Trustees Limited — representatives of the debtors — in order to stop the constitution of an interim board for 9mobile after the take-over in July 2017.
Although it lost the case then, the federal high court later nullified the ex parte order, and United Securities has now gone on appeal.
Airtel, which started out as Econet Wireless in 2001, went through a litany of boardroom crises as a result of litigation by Masiyiwa.
In July 2017, 9mobile, then known as Etisalat Nigeria, was taken over by banks following a N541 billion debt overhang.
Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator as a result of the debt owed to a consortium of 13 banks.
The telco was then put on sale, with Barclays Africa acting as transaction advisers.
The shortlisted companies are: Teleology Holdings Limited, promoted by Adrian Wood, the pioneer CEO of MTN Nigeria; Smile Telecoms Holdings, a telco operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo DR and South Africa; and Helios Investment Partners LLP, an investment company.
Others are Bharti Airtel, an Indian telco that owns Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom, the Nigerian company owned by Mike Adenuga Jnr.
The telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is expected to play a key role in the final decision of the interim board.
