Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana) has announced plans to sell 729,810 shares it previously acquired under a restricted buy-back programme, beginning 25 August 2025. The sale, to be executed by IC Securities Ghana Ltd at the prevailing market price, comes nearly four years after the company repurchased the shares at its IPO price of GHS 0.75.
In its statement to the Ghana Stock Exchange, the company said: “The transaction will be executed by IC Securities Ghana Ltd at the prevailing market price on the day of the transaction.”
The restricted buy-back, approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting in December 2020 and sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2021, was initiated to address incomplete participation in MTN’s 2018 Initial Public Offering (IPO). Some subscribers failed to provide the required Know Your Customer (KYC) information, leaving their shareholding irregular.
MTN refunded these applicants at the IPO price while taking back the shares into treasury. While more than one million shares were earmarked for the programme, the current sale of 729,810 suggests that some applicants later regularized their KYC documentation and retained their stakes, reducing the final pool of shares in MTN’s possession.
What makes the upcoming disposal remarkable is the difference between the buy-back price and today’s market valuation. MTN acquired the shares at GHS 0.75 but will now sell them at the prevailing price, which recently hit an all-time high of GHS 3.98 in August 2025. As of trading on 22 August, MTN shares closed with a selling price of GHS 3.88 and a buying price of GHS 3.85. At current levels, the resale could yield nearly GHS 2.8 million, against an initial cost of about GHS 547,000, a paper gain of more than GHS 2.2 million.
Despite the apparent windfall, the release of 729,810 shares is insignificant relative to MTN Ghana’s total shares outstanding of over 21 billion. The move underscores MTN’s compliance with regulatory requirements while showcasing the long-term value creation from its 2018 IPO. The company emphasized that the sale will be carried out in strict accordance with the rules of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the SEC.
