Ugandan tycoon Charles Mbire’s stake in MTN gets $49.6-million valuation following IPO

Businessman Charles Mbire’s stake in Uganda’s leading telecom services provider MTN Uganda has been valued at UGX178.5-billion ($49.6 million) since the company announced the results of its IPO.

The successful listing of the company’s shares comes nearly a month after the telecom operator received regulatory approval from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMAK) to market its IPO to local investors, in line with its vision to deliver the largest-ever IPO in Uganda’s history.

A recent announcement by MTN Uganda regarding the results of the public offering, which commenced on Oct. 11 and closed on Nov. 22, revealed that the heavily discounted IPO was undersubscribed by 64 percent.

The announcement also showed that the Ugandan telecom services provider raised UGX535.94 billion ($150.4 million) in the offering, which was open to East African investors from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

A total of 2.9 billion of the 4.47 billion shares offered publicly to shareholders were allotted to 21,394 applicants, including the National Social Security Fund, which bought 1.98 billion shares, Bank of Uganda, FirstRand and EFG Hermes Oman.

The completion of the IPO saw MTN Uganda attain a valuation of UGX4.48 billion ($1.24 billion) as it joins an elite group of companies in East Africa such as Safaricom, Tanzania Breweries, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank and East African Breweries that are worth more than $1 billion.

Mbire, who holds a 3.99-percent stake in the telecom company, saw the value of his stake reach a valuation of UGX178.49 million ($49.61 million).

The stake makes him one of the wealthiest investors on the Uganda Stock Exchange and one of the richest men in the country. Mbire has interests in banking, fishing and pharmaceuticals.

Upon completing the IPO, MTN International, an investment holding based in Port Louis, Mauritius, owns the majority 83.05-percent stake in the company and voting rights in MTB Uganda.

MTN International operates as a member of MTN Group Limited, a South African multinational mobile telecom behemoth led by leading business executive, Ralph Mupita.