MTN Group is planning to sell part or all of its $243 million interest in Jumia in order to cut its debt and enter new markets, according to people familiar with the deal quoted by Bloomberg.
MTN, which had previously marked the online retailer as a non-core business, is reviving plans for a sale after Jumia’s shares surged 142% this year, recovering from a dip in 2019, one of the people said. No final decisions about the sale have been made, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private.
MTN has been disposing of non-core assets as part of the company’s strategy to reduce debt and drive future growth.
The company also has a 29% stake in IHS Towers, which it may sell in the future, one of the people said. So far, the telco has generated 14 billion rand ($812 million) in asset sales that included selling its towers holdings in Ghana and Uganda to American Towers Inc.
The company plans include bidding for a license to enter Ethiopia, one of the largest markets that have not yet privatized its telecommunications industry.
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