BusinessDay can authoritatively report that Teleology Holdings has withdrawn from further participation in the 9mobile project. Teleology Holdings is a special purpose vehicle, comprised of telecom industry veterans and led by pioneer chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, Adrian Wood.
Sources close to the 9mobile organisation disclose that Teleology Holdings had become increasingly uncomfortable with actions taken outside of the agreed business plan, since the November 12, 2018 formal take-over of 9mobile.
Instructively, Teleology Holdings was blocked from concluding a management services contract with the local joint venture, Teleology Nigeria Limited.
The management services contract would have enabled Teleology Holdings and its team of experts oversee the implementation of the organisation’s elaborate business plans including funding proposals.
Also, founder of Teleology Holdings Limited, Adrian Wood is understood to have resigned from the boards of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services (trading as 9mobile) as well as Teleology Nigeria Limited.
Wood expressed his disappointment with the development in a statement to BusinessDay.
“Fifteen Teleology experts have worked since June 2017 on detailed 9mobile turnaround planning, development strategies and financial restructuring. This included lining up more than US$500 million fresh direct foreign investment from international institutions. 9mobile is an exciting opportunity to build a revolutionary mobile network that could be the pride of Nigeria, unfortunately it appears that we will not be able to participate,” Wood said.
“We now must stand down from further work on the 9mobile project,” Wood added.
Teleology Holdings Ltd will be seeking to exit its shareholding in the local joint venture Teleology Nigeria Limited, which will be required to change its name.
Teleology Holdings’ successful bid for 9mobile may not be unrelated to the quality of its proposed 7-member management team which included Adrian Wood and was approved by the NCC Technical Evaluation Committee, the 13-member bank lending syndicate as well as the acquisition finance provider, Afreximbank.
9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, is the fourth of Nigeria’s GSM service providers. It began trading as “9mobile” in the sequel to the financial troubles in which it was embroiled, when it defaulted in the servicing of a syndicated loan of $1.2billion owed a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks. In the aftermath, its erstwhile technical partners, Etisalat exited the business and requested that the use of the “Etisalat” brand name by the company be discontinued forthwith.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
