9mobile has dissociated itself with rumours circulating that a law court ordered it to pay back the N55bn debt it owes keystone Bank.
In a recent statement by the Board of Directors of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, trading as 9mobile, the telecommunication company which said the reports were false and defamatory, impacting its corporate reputation, explained that it was neither party to any debt with Keystone Bank nor any legal suit or court order related to the debt.
According to the company, media reports indicating that 9mobile was party to the debt were false and misleading, stating that the legal dispute involves only its minority shareholder, Teleology Nigeria Limited.
This came on the hills of media reports that a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered Teleology Nigeria Ltd. to pay the sum owed to Keystone Bank following claims by Keystone Bank’s legal counsel, Bode Olanipekun, SAN, who said that Teleology failed to service the loan used to finance its acquisition of assets in 9mobile.
Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited said, “Our attention has been drawn to a wave of syndicated media publications dated Friday, July 19, 2024, with the same misleading headline: ‘Court orders 9mobile to pay N55bn debt to Keystone Bank.
“The Management of 9mobile wishes to inform the concerned public and critical stakeholders that, contrary to this misleading headline, Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, trading as 9mobile, was neither a party to any suit nor affected by the order said to have been made against it as an entity.”
Meanwhile, it was gathered that despite Keystone Bank’s offer to restructure the loan, Teleology did not meet the conditions set forth and that instead of repayment, the plaintiff received a proposal from PAC Ltd. suggesting a debt conversion to equity with no immediate repayment.
“If the correspondents who filed the obviously syndicated news stories were anywhere near the courtroom during the proceedings leading to the issuance of the said order, they would have known that at no point was 9mobile a party to the suit in question. Rather, the action was appropriately classified and filed as ‘Keystone Bank v. Teleology Nigeria Limited.’”
The company reiterated that no judgment was made against it and described the attempt to link 9mobile with the transaction of its minority shareholder, Teleology Nigeria Limited, as “false and maliciously misleading.”
9mobile highlighted that it is under new ownership, with a 95.5 per cent controlling stake in the business and has not been found liable for the actions of its minority shareholder in the ongoing legal tussle.
“Our business transformation program has commenced, and we are poised to reclaim our place in the market,” 9mobile assured.
Teleology Holdings acquired 9mobile, previously known as Etisalat Nigeria, in November 2018 after a lengthy bidding process. However, just two months later, Teleology announced its withdrawal from the project due to dissatisfaction with its local partnership and operational challenges.
This decision jeopardised the initial $50m deposit made for the acquisition and highlighted ongoing financial difficulties faced by 9mobile, which has seen a significant decline in subscribers since its financial troubles began in 2017.
