Pan-African operator MTN Group has announced the conclusion of the sale of its MTN Guinea-Conakry operation to the State of Guinea. This took place on 30 December 2024.
This transaction, says MTN, aligns with its focus on portfolio optimisation and simplification, as part of Ambition 2025, a strategy anchored in building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa.
MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, has been widely quoted as saying: “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 their support during the time MTN has been operational in the country.”
He added: “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.”
The closing of the sale isn’t a big surprise. As long ago as November 2023 we reported ongoing discussions in progress regarding the potential ‘orderly exit’ of MTN from its operations in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry and Liberia. At that time MTN had completed the sale of MTN Afghanistan, which marked group’s exit from the Middle East.
In fact in April 2024, according to ITWeb Africa, Mupita informed shareholders and markets in April that MTN’s objective was to “streamline and restructure” its portfolio.
MTN Group completed the sale of its Guinea-Bissau business unit to Telecel in August last year. It still has a presence in Liberia.
