MTN has liquidated Visafone, recognising a loss of ₦30.3 billion ($18 million) on the 2016 acquisition of Nigeria’s last-standing CDMA network.
“Following the absorption by MTN Nigeria, Visafone is now fully liquidated,” a note in its H1 2024 financial statement said. “The liquidation process was completed during the period, and all remaining assets and liabilities of Visafone have been transferred.”
When MTN Nigeria acquired Jim Ovia’s Visafone, its goal was to improve the quality of broadband internet. It had its eye on Visafone’s 800MHz spectrum licences, which would have helped MTN deliver 4G LTE Internet services to its subscribers.
MTN Nigeria did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
That spectrum licence made Visafone—with 2.2 million registered subscribers—strategically important. It would also prove to be a bone of contention for three years. With Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) reluctant to approve the transfer of the spectrum licence, MTN initially considered pulling out of the acquisition.
Competitors Airtel and 9mobile argued that if MTN Nigeria acquired the spectrum, its stake would increase from 38% to 50% of the entire spectrum available. For MTN, the acquisition was important to allow it to compete with Globacom which launched 4G LTE services in October 2016.
It was not the first time MTN was acquiring a spectrum licence holder. In 2006, it bought VGC Communications Limited (VGCCL) for $70 million (N9.3 billion).
VGCCL was licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to provide cabling and radio telephone services nationwide.
While Visafone did not disclose the terms of the acquisition in 2016, the filing shows MTN invested ₦43 billion.
