Teleology paid up $450m, appoints Beuvelet, MD, Ado-Bayero, chairman - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The selling of 9mobile, hitherto known as Etisalat Nigeria may have finally been resolved with the pronouncement and constitution of new board of directors under the chairmanship of the Nasiru Ado Bayero, as Teleology Nigeria Limited takes over, reports ITREALMS.

This is coming as ITREALMS gathered that Stephane Beuvelet, has been appointed Acting Managing Director of 9mobile.

The new owners of 9mobile, Teleology, also revealed that they have paid the balance of $450 million after the initial $50 million paid in last April.

The seven-man new Board of Directors emerged followed the successful completion of tenure of the former Board appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

One the newly appointed Non-Executive Director of Teleology, Mohammed Edewor, was quoted as saying that the new Chairman, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, has accepted the appointment.

The new 7-man Board of Directors comprised, Nasiru Ado Bayero (Chairman), Asega Aliga (Non-Executive Director), Adrian Wood (Non-Executive Director), Mohammed Edewor (Non-Executive Director), Winston Ndubueze Udeh (Non-Executive Director), Abdulrahman Ado (Executive Director), and Stephane Beuvelet (Acting Managing Director).

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) guidelines on the transaction brings to conclusion on the long process which marked the sale of 9mobile.

New chairman of 9mobile board, Alhaji Bayero was quoted as welcoming his appointment, saying that “as we begin this new epochal phase, we wish to thank all the employees who built this viable business. Our debt of gratitude also goes to our subscribers even as we assure them to get ready for real best-in-class additional value for their relationship with the 9mobile brand. Without you, there could not have been a 9mobile business for us to invest in today. We will justify your confidence in our brand by making significant investments that will improve the value you get for using 9mobile.”

“For us, the composition of the new Board of Directors is another significant milestone, and this follows the issuance of final approval of no objection by the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the effect that the technical and financial bids Teleology submitted for 9mobile met and satisfied all the regulatory requirements. This is indeed the dawn of a new era in the evolution of the 9mobile brand in the Nigerian market,” Edewor said.

ITREALMS recalls that CBN in collaboration with NCC, had as at July 2017 appointed a Board of Directors chaired by Dr. Joseph Nnanna, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to oversee the affairs of the company pending the completion of regulatory due diligence of the bid documents submitted by Teleology and sixteen others for its acquisition that was managed by Barclays Africa.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Pix: Stephane Beuvelet, new acting MD, 9mobile.

Teleology: Show us your technical know-how – NCC insists

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has insisted on due diligence on the sale of 9mobile to the preferred bidder, Teleology Holdings Limited starting with show of technical know-how, reports ITRealms.

According to the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the Commission has not shown any form of regulatory mistake but rather is bent on ensuring that due diligence is followed in the exercise.

Speaking in Lagos on Monday,  at a media parley, Genesis Hotel, Danbatta told ITRealms that due diligence may have taken a while to come, but insisted that NCC is determined to ensure everything is on the right track.

The due diligence, he also said, has been categorized into two, the one to be done by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and another by the Commission.

As said by him, after the emergence of the preferred bidder, Teleology, CBN started its financial component and until they finish, NCC cannot start its own exercise, which he described as ‘technical evaluation.’

He promised Nigerian telecom consumers that NCC would embark on its technical evaluation of the preferred bidder of 9mobile as soon as possible without leaving anything to chance.

“This will come after CBN has finished its financial evaluation of the preferred bidder,” he declared.

ITRealms recalls that the financial adviser handling the sale of 9mobile, Barclays Africa, recently named Teleology Holdings Limited as the preferred bidder, following which the company advanced the payment of $50m being the initial non-refundable 10 per cent of the bid price required to keep the interest on 9mobile alive.

Prof. Danbatta, had earlier pointed out that failure to meet the 90 days to pay up the balance of $450m, will result in losing the spot to the reserved bidder, Smile Communications.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Official: Teleology is preferred bidder for 9Mobile

ITREALMS:

The financial adviser on the sale of 9mobile, Barclays Africa has finally concluded on this mandate as it transmitted an official letter to Teleology Holdings Limited, thus settling speculations on the preferred bidder in the sale of 9mobile, reports ITRealms.

The chief executive officer of 9Mobile, Mr Boye Onasanya, also confirmed that Teleology Holding is the preferred buyer of the telecommunication company.

According to ThisDay reports which quoted Olusanya as saying that Teleology Holdings emerged the best bidder in the sale process, while Smile Telecoms Holdings is considered as reserved bidder if Teleology reneges on its bid for the multimillion-dollar company.

In an internal memo, Olusanya informed employees of the latest development, saying its lenders, Barclays Africa, would continue the final process with Teleology to negotiate on the sale of the company.

“In line with my previous communications on the bid process, discussions and negotiations have put the board in a position to name Teleology Holdings as the preferred bidder for our company,” Olusanya said.

“The lenders will now engage Teleology Holdings to conclude other aspects of the negotiation and I will continue to provide updates as and when the milestone occur.”

The letter also directed Teleology Holdings to make a non-refundable cash deposit of $50 million within 21 days from the date of the letter, dated February 21, 2018, or lose the bid to the reserve bidder, Smile Holdings Limited.

As at Thursday, source close to Barclays Africa, had confirmed Teleology Holdings Limited received a letter notifying the company as the official document for the purposes of finishing on the sale of 9mobile.

ITRealms recalls that NCC had on February 1, 2018, clarified it was yet to receive any information from Barclays Africa and 9mobile concerning the sale of Etisalat turned 9Mobile, and dismissed as speculations and reports making the rounds then, that Teleology had emerged as the preferred bidder.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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