Interested investors should get their funds ready as Mascom, Botswana’s largest mobile operator with over 1.7 million subscribers is about to have its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the floor of the Botswana Stock Exchange. However, only a portion of the shares held by Strive Masiyiwa’s Econet, which has 60% of Mascom’s stocks, would be offered to the public for subscription. Mascom’s offer is for 100 pula ($9.36) per share and trading is due by October of this year.
Zimbabwe’s richest man Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, who owns Econet which is also the largest mobile operator in Zimbabwe said last week that he intends to list some of Econet’s shares in Mascom on the Botswana Stock Exchange in what he believes will be one of the biggest flotations on Botswana’s Stock Exchange.
“This is what I have always wanted to do …I have never held enough shareholding to push it through,” he told reporters.
Mr. Masiyiwa is Zimbabwe’s Richest Man And He Owns Both Mascom and Econet
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa founded Mascom in 1998 in Botswana, months before he established Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe. Both telecom mobile operators are now the largest in the two countries.
Earlier in March 2019, Econet Group spent $300 million acquiring a 53% stake in Mascom from MTN Group. This increased Econet’s stake in Mascom from 7% to 60%. The remainder of 40% is held by the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund. The deal is expected to be concluded anytime soon as regulatory approval is at its final stages.
Also See: MTN Nigeria Prepares To List On The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Converts To Public Company
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, aged 57, is the 8th richest man in Africa with a net worth of $1.9 billion, according to Forbes 2019 estimates. His wealth comes mostly from the telecom industry.
Masiyiwa also owns just over half of private company Liquid Telecom, which provides fiber optic and satellite services to telecom firms across Africa. His other assets include stakes in mobile phone networks in Burundi and Lesotho, and investments in fintech and power distribution firms in Africa. He and his wife Tsitsi founded the Higherlife Foundation, which supports orphaned and poor children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi and Lesotho.
Botswana’s biggest IPO was in 2016, when Botswana Telecommunications Corporation listed after a 462 million-pula ($43-million) offering.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
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