MTN Nigeria to Sell 60% Stake in Fintech Units to MTN Group in ₦152bn Deal

Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, MTN Nigeria expects the transaction to be completed on or before December 31, 2026.

MTN Momo

MTN Nigeria has announced plans to sell a 60% stake in its fintech subsidiaries—MoMo Payment Service Bank and Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDF) to MTN Group in a deal valued at ₦152.06 billion.

The disclosure was made in a shareholder FAQ released ahead of the company’s Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 30, 2026.

Deal structure and ownership

Under the proposed transaction, MTN Group—through its fintech arm, MTN Group Fintech B.V.—will acquire majority ownership in the two fintech subsidiaries, while MTN Nigeria will retain a 40% stake.

The deal will be executed through a mix of fresh capital injection into the fintech businesses and a secondary purchase of shares from MTN Nigeria.

Following completion, both parties will transfer their holdings into a new holding company to be registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria, maintaining a 60:40 ownership split in favor of MTN Group.

The transaction aligns with MTN Group’s Ambition 2030 strategy, which aims to position the company as Africa’s leading platform for connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure.

MTN Nigeria noted that while it has fully funded the fintech subsidiaries to date, scaling the business requires significant additional capital. The deal is expected to unlock funding needed to accelerate expansion and tap into Nigeria’s fast-growing digital financial services market.

Deal Valuation

According to the company, KPMG provided an independent fairness opinion, describing the agreed valuation of ₦95.5 billion as fair and reasonable.

The valuation represents a 2.1x premium to the fintech units’ carrying value as of December 2025.

MTN Nigeria stated that shareholder holdings in the listed telecom entity will remain unchanged if the deal is approved.

However, investors will retain indirect exposure to the fintech business through the company’s 40% stake.

The company also highlighted that the fintech subsidiaries are currently loss-making. Their separation from MTN Nigeria’s financials is expected to improve overall performance, reduce funding obligations, and strengthen free cash flow.

Subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, MTN Nigeria expects the transaction to be completed on or before December 31, 2026.

MTN Fintech Revenue Over The Years

MoMo PSB and YDF have been key drivers of MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue growthMoMo PSB and YDF have been key drivers of MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue growth.

For the full year 2025:

Fintech revenue rose by 79.7%

Active wallets reached 3.7 million

Customer deposits increased by 156.1%

Growth was supported by higher interest income, expansion of advanced services, improved app stability, and deeper rural penetration through agent and merchant networks.

Share this article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get notified about new articles