MTN Group has announced the Group’s exit from their operations in Yemen in a transaction that furthers the delivery of MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy and is in line with their intention – first announced in August 2020 – to exit the Middle East. The departure was announced in a bid to simplify MTN’s portfolio on a pan-African strategy.
Effective 17 November 2021, MTN Group had transferred their majority shareholding in MTN Yemen to Emerald International Investment LCC. Emerald is a subsidiary of Zubair Investment Center LLC, an affiliate of Zubair Corporation LLC, which is the minority shareholder in MTN Yemen.
“The decision to exit Yemen was driven by a need to simplify the portfolio and focus our limited resources on executing a pan-African strategy. We would like to thank the 719 employees of MTN Yemen for their commitment over the years, and the 4.7 million subscribers of MTN Yemen for their custom and trust in the brand. We wish Emerald well in the next phase of development of this business as they work with the team that served MTN well over the years”, said Ralph Mupita, President and Chief Executive Officer, MTN Group.
In August 2020, MTN Group announced plans to focus on our pan-African strategy and exit the Middle East over the medium term, thereby simplifying their portfolio and reducing risk. In the first half of 2021, MTN Yemen contributed 0.3% to MTN Group EBITDA. MTN Group held 82.8% of the shares in MTN Yemen, whose operating licence for its 2G network is due for renewal at the end of 2021.
