Teleology Holdings, the long-preferred bidder for the acquisition of 9mobile, has finally fulfilled the $50m non-refundable cash deposit requirement, essentially edging out fierce rival, Smile Communications.
According to an official statement Techpoint received, key executives of the organisation have been deep in meetings with the Nigerian bank syndicate (that took over 9mobile), the regulatory authorities and advisors. These meetings have culminated in the signing of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) and other contractual documents pertaining to the acquisition.
With the acquisition all but finalised — the entire deal is rumoured to be worth $500m — Teleology has wasted no time in revealing its plans to overhaul the struggling telco.
According to Adrian Wood, Teleology’s Director and pioneer Managing Director of MTN Nigeria, the plan is to build a new company that is “engineering led and brand driven”.
“9mobile is transiting into a new phase that will be defined by optimal value delivery: value to our employees, value to our customers, value to local communities and indeed to all stakeholders.”
Major plans towards actualising these include doubling the 9mobile network with new 3G/4G specific cell sites as well as a several thousands kilometres of fibre optic cables across the country. There are also plans to drive a special programme of rural internet coverage, focusing on 4G with broadband access planned for all of Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas.
Finally, Teleology has already entered into an alliance with Safaricom, the largest network operator in East Africa. It will be interesting to see how such a partnership pans out.
Nigerian startups raised $17.6m in Q1 2019, 8.5% higher than they did in Q1 2018. Find out more in the latest quarterly edition of the Nigerian Startup Funding Report here.
Chief Chronicler. Get in touch.
