The financial and other crises rocking Etisalat Nigeria are not abating at all as the telecommunication company has been given 3 weeks ultimatum by Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), the largest shareholder in the embattled firm, to stop using its brand name.
The implication is that the new management must decide within the next 21 days on the options before it, which are either an outright sale of the company or merger with an existing operator in the country.
Etisalat, which controls 13 per cent market share in Nigeria, has had a running battle with a consortium of 13 banks since March, after it notified them of its inability to service its $1.2 billion debt in February due to the foreign exchange challenges in the country.
The firm had through its Vice-President, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Ibrahim Dikko, three weeks ago, claimed that it had repaid 42 per cent of the loan.
“As at today, we can categorically state that the outstanding loan sum to the consortium (of banks) stands at $227 million and N113 billion, a total of about $574 million if the naira portion is converted to U.S. Dollars. This, in essence, means almost half of the original loan of $1.2 billion, has been repaid.”
The Chief Executive of Etisalat International, Hatem Dowidar, told Reuters yesterday that Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat had terminated its management agreement with its Nigerian arm and given the business time to phase out the brand in Nigeria.
Etisalat had been ordered to transfer its shares to a loan trustee after the talks which brought up management changes to the Nigerian arm.
Dowidar said all UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria had exited the company and left the board and management. He said discussions were ongoing with Etisalat Nigeria to provide technical support, adding that it could use the brand for another three-week before phasing it out.
