South African telco giant eyes Mastercard deal

MTN plans to spin off its financial technology operations in three key markets during the first half of the year as part of a reorganization that will allow Mastercard to buy a minority stake in the high-growth units.

The Johannesburg-based telecommunications company must separate fintech units in Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda as part of a process to complete a deal with Mastercard that was struck in 2023, CEO Ralph Mupita told Bloomberg on Monday.

Africa’s young, tech-savvy population is increasingly using mobile phones to bridge gaps in services, including banking.

That’s opened a lucrative and fast-growing space in the fintech sector for wireless carriers. MTN’s mobile money transactions rose 35% in constant currency terms to over $320 billion.

The size of Mastercard’s stake could be as much as $200 million (R3.6 billion), with the exact details to be disclosed once the deal closes, valuing the fintech unit at $5.2 billion.

The processes are more advanced in Uganda and Ghana, while Nigeria has “a bit more complexity with some more regulatory processes to work through,” Mupita said.

MTN is also open to network sharing deals, in line with the trend seen in European markets, the CEO said.

The group, which is Africa’s largest carrier by sales, declared a dividend of R3.45 a share for 2024, beating the R3.35 average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

It also plans to pay a higher dividend of at least R3.70 a share for the current financial year, it said in a statement on Monday. 

Shares rose as much as 3.4% in early Johannesburg trading.

The company posted a loss of R9.59 billion for 2024, compared to an estimated loss of R3.87 billion.