Elegbede Abiodun
It was a decisive day for MTN Nigeria shareholders as they met today, April 30, 2026, and successfully voted to approve the highly anticipated sale of majority stakes in the company’s fintech arms. The investors passed Resolution 9, granting the company the mandate to implement a “Structural Separation Transaction” that transfers MoMo PSB and YDFS under a new financial holding company. The board’s advice for retail and institutional investors to vote in favour of the motion was overwhelmingly heeded.
Prior to this vote, MTN Nigeria bore 100% of the financial and operational risks for these platforms. However, the cost of expanding digital payments, driving remittances, and building agent networks across the country is incredibly steep. The company openly admitted that the subsidiaries are currently running at a loss, noting that this is typical at this stage of their growth lifecycle. To continue expanding, the businesses required substantial financial investment.
The approved solution unlocks a massive capital influx. Under the finalised deal terms, MTN Group is stepping in to provide this crucial funding, investing approximately ₦152.06 billion to take over a 60% stake in the businesses. Following this capital injection and secondary share acquisition, MTN Nigeria’s shareholding in the fintech subsidiaries will be officially diluted to 40%.
Management successfully argued that this split was necessary to protect the company’s network leadership and ensure strong shareholder returns. By removing the fintech operations from its immediate books, MTN Nigeria can now redeploy its capital to accelerate its core telecom operational activities. Furthermore, the separation ensures MTN Nigeria will fall solely under the regulatory purview of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), eliminating any regulatory overlap or ambiguity.
Due to the nature of the deal involving the parent company, interested directors and associates were barred from participating in today’s vote to ensure market transparency, strictly complying with the provisions of Rule 20.8 (c) (8) of the Nigerian Exchange Limited. With the shareholders giving the green light today, the company will immediately kick off the final regulatory steps, targeting a full completion date on or before December 31, 2026.
