(Ecofin Agency) - Teleology Holdings finalized acquisition of the mobile operator 9mobile. In that regard, the company announced the constitution of a new administrative board to replace the older constituted by Central Bank of Nigeria, for the Nigerian telecommunications company and the transfer of ownership to new investors. Teleology Holdings, which was declared the preferred bidder for the acquisition of 9mobile by Barclays Bank on February 21, 2018, paid $500 million and a non-refundable deposit of $50 million.

Teleology Holdings can now fully concentrate on the development of the operator which is still the last in the Nigerian telecommunications market. In March 2018, Adrian Wood, Teleology Holdings’ managing director indicated that once the acquisition is completed, they would focus on the improvement of the network by deploying new 3G/4G telecom stations and installing thousands of kilometers of optical fiber around the country. It will also concentrate on providing high-speed internet in rural areas.

According to the Nigerian Communication Council, there were 162,058,918  telecom subscribers at the period which ended September 30, 2018, for a 106.6% penetration rate. In this market, 9mobile had 15,355,061 clients for 9% of market share. This represents the smallest market share compared to MTN, which remains leader of the market, Airtel and Globacom with 64,160,404 (40%), 41,313,633 (26%) and  40,856,649 (25%) subscribers respectively.