MTN has made the strategic decision to liquidate Visafone, resulting in an acknowledged financial loss of $18 million. This development comes after several years of successfully securing the spectrum rights.


MTN has officially liquidated Visafone, acknowledging a loss of ₦30.3 billion ($18 million) from its 2016 purchase of Nigeria's last remaining CDMA network.

According to a statement in its H1 2024 financial report, "Visafone has been fully liquidated following its integration into MTN Nigeria. The liquidation process has been finalized, with all remaining assets and liabilities of Visafone now transferred."

MTN Nigeria's acquisition of Jim Ovia's Visafone aimed to enhance broadband internet quality, particularly through Visafone's 800MHz spectrum licenses, which were intended to facilitate the delivery of 4G LTE services to MTN's customers.

MTN Nigeria has not yet provided a response to requests for comments.

The spectrum license made Visafone, which had 2.2 million registered subscribers, a strategically significant asset. However, it also became a point of contention for three years, as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was hesitant to approve the transfer of the spectrum license, leading MTN to contemplate withdrawing from the acquisition.

Competitors Airtel and 9mobile contended that if MTN Nigeria obtained the spectrum, its share would rise from 38% to 50% of the total available spectrum. For MTN, securing this acquisition was crucial to compete with Globacom, which launched its 4G LTE services in October 2016.

This was not MTN's first experience in acquiring a spectrum license holder; in 2006, it purchased VGC Communications Limited (VGCCL) for $70 million (₦9.3 billion).

Recall that on Thursday, January 7, 2016, MTN Nigeria announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Visafone, the sole remaining Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network within Nigeria's telecommunications sector. While the specific terms of the 2016 acquisition of Visafone were not disclosed, filings indicate that MTN invested ₦43 billion in the deal.