MTN Group has completed the sale of its operations in Guinea to the State of Guinea, as it exits from the market.
This deal, which was concluded on 30 December 2024, “aligns with MTN’s focus on portfolio optimization and simplification, as part of the Ambition 2025 strategy,” the company said in a press release.
Divesting from Guinea was driven by MTN’s assessment of its operations in the region and its long-term goals. Ralph Mupita, president and CEO of MTN Group, explained that the transaction is in line with their focus on concentrating resources in markets where they can have the greatest impact and achieve sustainable growth.
“This milestone marks a new phase for MTN Guinea-Conakry under local ownership, and MTN thanks the staff, customers, regulators and broader stakeholders in Guinea for the support during the time MTN has been operational in the country.” Mupita said.
“Concluding this transaction is in line with the strategy to simplify the portfolio and allocating capital to markets where we can make a difference as MTN and deliver long-term growth and returns.”
MTN’s rationale for selling its Guinea operations also comes from its current portfolio evaluation process. In an August 2024 interview with the media in Johannesburg, Mupita explained the group’s reasons for divesting its operations in Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau.
He said the company carefully assesses each market’s potential to support its own growth, noting that markets like Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, though showing some growth prospects, were deemed to be suboptimal for MTN’s long-term strategy.
Even with initiatives to grow revenue and profits, MTN concluded that it was no longer the best fit for these operations. “Even if we saw growth, we had to ask if we were the right owners of these businesses,” Mupita added.
Earlier in December 2023, MTN signed an agreement with Telecel Group to sell its interests in both Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau for a nominal fee of $1.
However, MTN’s half-year results in August 2024 confirmed that the sale of the Guinea-Bissau operations had been finalised, leaving only Guinea-Conakry to be transferred.
This exit allows MTN to focus on markets with more growth opportunities, as part of its goal to optimise its regional presence.
MTN is refocusing its goals on markets that offer the best potential for long-term returns, ensuring that its resources are effectively allocated in line with its 2025 strategy.
