9mobile denies involvement in teleology’s N55bn debt case

Telecommunications company 9mobile has clarified that it has no involvement in the N55 billion debt owed to Keystone Bank by its minority shareholder, Teleology Limited, as it was not a party to the court case.

In response to media reports suggesting that a court had ordered 9mobile to pay the N55 billion, the company issued a disclaimer on Saturday. Describing the reports as “false and defamatory,” 9mobile stated:

“The Management of 9mobile wishes to inform the concerned public and critical stakeholders that, contrary to this misleading headline, Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited (EMTS), trading as 9mobile, was neither a party to any suit nor affected by the order said to have been made against it as an entity.”

The company emphasized that the case in question was Keystone v. Teleology Limited and was not linked to 9mobile. It noted that its name was never mentioned during the court proceedings and expressed confusion over why it is now being associated with the court order.

“For the avoidance of doubt, no judgment was made against 9mobile, and the attempt to link our corporate entity with a transaction by our minority shareholder, Teleology Nigeria Limited, in its legal tussle with Keystone Bank, is false and maliciously misleading,” the company stated.

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9mobile highlighted that it is under new ownership with a 95.5% controlling stake and has not been found liable for the actions of its minority shareholder. The company affirmed that its business transformation program is underway and that it is poised to reclaim its market position.

Reports indicate that a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos ordered Teleology Nigeria Limited to pay N55.7 billion to Keystone Bank Limited. The action, filed by Keystone Bank’s counsel Bode Olanipekun, SAN, accused Teleology Nigeria Limited of failing to service a loan facility used to finance its acquisition of strategic assets in Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd., doing business as 9mobile.

Olanipekun noted that despite the bank’s offer to restructure the loan facility, Teleology failed to meet various conditions. Instead of receiving payment, the bank was presented with a proposal from PAC Limited suggesting a debt sale or acquisition by a Bankruptcy Remote Special Purpose Vehicle, which was akin to converting the debt to equity without immediate repayment.

Following its loan default under previous owners, 9mobile was acquired by Teleology Nigeria Limited in 2018 through a bidding process led by Barclays Africa, involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), and 13 Nigerian banks. The acquisition process included an initial deposit of $50 million and a further payment of $251 million to settle the banks.

These payments, along with due diligence and technical evaluations, led to the clearance of the sale by the NCC and the handover of 9mobile to the new owners, who announced a new Board on November 12, 2018, with His Royal Highness Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero as the Chairman.