After years of struggling without core investors since the exit of Etisalat in 2017, Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Limited, trading as 9Mobile, has been acquired by LH Telecommunication Limited, a UK-based company.
And this is no small takeover. According to news reports, LH Telecommunication acquired 95.5% stake in 9Mobile Nigeria, becoming by far the largest stakeholder in the telco.
This is great news for 9Mobile. Apart from the fresh injection of much-needed funds for its operations, the acquisition brings new management to the company.
LH Telecom has already announced new officials to the board and management of 9Mobile. The new board members include Thomas Etuh who becomes chairman of the board, Nahim Abe Ibraheem, Femi Edun, Daisy Ehanire Danjuma, Michael Ikpoki, Ibrahim Puri, Gloria Danjuma, and Emmanuel Etuh.
A veteran player in the telecom industry, Obafemi Banigbe, is now the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of 9Mobile and will lead the company on the path to recovery after years of a struggle to stay competitive.
9Mobile originally started operations in Nigeria in October 2008 as Etisalat. On 2017, the Abu Dhabi telecoms group, Etisalat, pulled out of the company and demanded that its brand be phased out in the country within a period of 3 weeks. This led to a drop from 21 million subscribers to 12 million in a period of three years. This pit a huge gap between the rest of the Big 4 telecom operators and 9Mobile in Nigeria.
LH Telecommunications is a private limited company incorporated in the United Kingdom on the 29th of January, 2019. Other than that, little else is known about the company.
With LH Telecom’s new team on place, the process of rebuilding 9Mobile begins and subscribers can look forward to better days.