By Dipo Olowookere
Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s 9mobile, Mr Boye Olusanya, has assured that the acquisition of the telecom firm would be finalised “as soon as possible.”
Mr Olusanya gave this assurance in a statement he personally signed and was made available to Business Post on Thursday.
9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, was plunged into debt by its former owners, leading to a consortium of Nigerian banks attempting to take over the company.
However, prompt intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) prevented this from happening so as not to send the wrong signal to foreign investors.
Last year, the firm changed its name and brand identity.
Barclays Africa, which recently changed its name to Absa, was later appointed to source for a new investor for 9mobile. The process was supposed to have been completed in December 2017, but it was extended.
Earlier this year, Teleology Holdings Limited was announced as the preferred bidder of the exercise, but since then, not much has been heard of the acquisition.
In the statement issued today, Mr Olusanya said the board of 9mobile has agreed to extend timeline for closure of the acquisition process.
“The timeline extension was considered necessary to enable parties involved in the sale process to finalise the requisite transaction documentation to facilitate a smooth closure and transition to the new investor,” the chief executive explained.
He said further that, “The Board of 9mobile is pleased with the progress made thus far and expects the acquisition process to be completed as soon as possible. Further updates in this regard will be provided in due course.”
“We hereby thank our invaluable customers for their support and reiterate our continuing commitment to providing best-in-class telecommunication service,” he noted.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Adedapo Adesanya