hmm I doubt the stocks would be readily available for just anybody, right now. Whats the minumum purchase amount by the way? I think it should be about 1milla? Anybody knows?

Iyke-D:

Donzman,

You should get your facts straight, I know it sounds and feels good to say Transcorp is
being funded with public funds, I know a couple of people here in the states who has
invested in Transcorp - they have not lived in Nigeria for the past 20 years or so, I don't
see how you are lumping their monies as public funds. I didn't know Jim Ovia or Dangote
or Femi Odetola were past governors and ministers, that is news to me.

That's gross bullshit. You don't have to be a former governor/minister to benefit from public funds. All you have to do is know someone who is a governor/minister/senator. If you don't see the influence of politicians and their loot on Transcorp then you must be blind. By the way, the airconditioner at Transcorp Hilton's conference room wasn't functioning on the day NFA elections were held there. Wow, great management by the great hotel managers at Transcorp.

Donzman,

If it makes you feel good, believe whatever you want to believe about Transcorp. But
you know what, that same assumption holds true for half of corporate Nigeria especially
in the banking sector - how did you think most of the banks met CBN's re-capitalization
requirement?

Hmm, the conference room A/C is not working? Oh well, there goes the end of Transcorp,

Donceman,

We all know that TransCorp have become a public whipping dog for the disgruntled and ill-informed, most desperate to score cheap political points. So I'm not surprised at some of the comments here,

Today, we hear the TransCorp head office was raided by the EFCC, I think that's a very good development. Maybe this will go a long way in establishing the true ownership of the corporation and help restore the much deserved credibility of this noble corporation.

TransCorp is not being financed by 'public funds'. It's ownership is a lot more transparent than the likes of GlobalCom which we all celebrate but comfortable with despite it's dubious ownership. OBJ could have easily stayed in the background, completely away from the public view yet be the majority shareholder in TransCorp. This is the way we've come to expect things to be done. Maybe then, there wouldn't have had all this noise!!

Besides, Le Meridien and other hotels / companies have been privatised, it's so interesting how TransCorp Hilton is the only one that draws the attention of our people,

joshO

You said it all!!! I hope that today's EFCC raid and subsequent investigation when complete will put
an end to all the buzz and poorly informed opinions mainly from political hacks, most of whom have no real knowledge about how a startup company goes about raising funds through private placement, and public offer (IPO). Some accuse Transcorp of having the nation's treasury at its disposal, yet when they are slow to close deals because they have to satisfy the requirement of their bankers before loans can be released as was in the NITEL deal, there are again vilified for not making payment on time!

It's a truly welcome development, its best Transcorp shed this burden now than later. Any illegal share-holding should be exposed and taken over by the federal government and sold off to the public at the right time.

Folks, Nigeria is changing, albeit slowly. I have been a supporter of both the EFCC and Transcorp.
My take is that both organization will emerge from this stronger and with more credibility.

joshO:

Donceman,

We all know that TransCorp have become a public whipping dog for the disgruntled and ill-informed, most desperate to score cheap political points. So I'm not surprised at some of the comments here,

Today, we hear the TransCorp head office was raided by the EFCC, I think that's a very good development. Maybe this will go a long way in establishing the true ownership of the corporation and help restore the much deserved credibility of this noble corporation.

TransCorp is not being financed by 'public funds'. It's ownership is a lot more transparent than the likes of GlobalCom which we all celebrate but comfortable with despite it's dubious ownership. OBJ could have easily stayed in the background, completely away from the public view yet be the majority shareholder in TransCorp. This is the way we've come to expect things to be done. Maybe then, there wouldn't have had all this noise!!

Besides, Le Meridien and other hotels / companies have been privatised, it's so interesting how TransCorp Hilton is the only one that draws the attention of our people,

There's nothing noble about transcorp because there's nothing noble about your people suffering while you use their funds to create a company which will buy out all corporations that is bing privatized. Turn around and charge the people for the same services at an inflated price.

Transcorp is the only one that draws attention because it's the only one with a shady ownership and shady dealings. How can a company out of the blue purcahse NITEL and Hilton?, What qualifications do they have that will ensure they'll be able to manage NITEL and HILTON?, None whatsoever. What prior experience does Transcorp have in telecommunications or Hotel Management? , None whatsoever. These are things that should have been considered before privatizing the people's services. Not when it comes to Transcorp though, they have the people's money so they can purchase all the businesses at inflated prices with nobody asking questions.

Iyke, how is Transcorp purchasing NITEL a good decision for Nigerians?, Where will the efficiency come from when they have no prior dealings in the telecommunications industry?, Think my friend, THINK because capital (one stolen from public funds nonetheless) isn't everything needed to run a business. Last I checked, Transcorp's whiz kid. MD resigned under insuniations he was removed because he didn't support OBJ's third term bid.

Donzman

Please pay a visit to the BPE's website and you will find all the companies that they have privatized since the inception of OBJ admin. Now If TWO entities equals ALL entities, then something is seriously wrong with your math.

I see you are one of those who fall in the camp of "they fired Fola Adeola as GMD" because he would not support 3rd term. I have seen that a few times, it usually follows when facts are low on supply regarding the accusations being levelled against Transcorp.

Lets assume for a minute that your argument holds true, I guess that means at some point Fola Adeola BELIEVED in Transcorp as a viable company otherwise how did he end up as the first GMD.
Had it not been for political differences (3rd term), then its also safe to assume that he would have still being leading Transcorp, still a believer, right?

See, political differences aside, what your "whiz kid" saw in Transcorp is what some of us are seeing
right now. It may not be perfect, its promoters may be heavily connected politically, and there is the OBJ twist as well, but its the vision thing that folks are identifying with.

Don't see how Transcorp purchasing NITEL is a good decision for Nigerians? Maybe Nigerians like you will have been happier if it was sold to the Indians or Chinese. I have no way of knowing how much NITEL was worth (don't forget the crippling debt), but Transcorp's offer was twice what Orascom offered last time.

Lets see, maybe OBJ single-handedly arranged for the Orascom deal to fail while prepping the ground for its giveaway to Transcorp, it was all a scam, While we are at it, lets not forget to inform OBJ that the conference room A/C unit in Transcorp Hilton Hotel is not working, someone is sleeping on the
job!

I read an interview yesterday where the leader of the labour union - Telecoms and Utilities threw his full weight behind the Nitel deal. He also said something some of us have been saying all along, Had it been an 'oyinbo' company that bought Nitel for half what TransCorp paid, we would all have been mute. We have a true 'slave' mentality!! The current war is against popular opinion because the popular opinion is one steeped in slave mentality, subjugation and oppression. Atiku and the ACD progaganda machine are exploiting this to the fullest to score politically in their endless manipulation of the masses, the wool fell of my eyes a long time ago.

TransCorp was a very open transaction. It needn't have been. Had the players wanted to, they would have acquired even more assets through front companies like the likes of Atiku and IBB have done.

OBJ is an insider and beneficiary of the fraud that Nigeria is. I believe strongly that he is bent on changing the rules of the game, moving away from the status quo. His current activity should ensure that the likes of Atiku, IBB and himself will not rule Nigeria again. This is time for our generation to think out of the box and rise to the challenge and the occassion. OBJ is not the best leader Nigeria can have, neither is Atiku, IBB nor Buhari.

It takes a thief to catch a thief. Should Atiku become president, Nigeria will become an even bigger contract and any gains recorded at the macro - economic level will be wiped out by these desperately greedy misfits.

You guys still don't get the gist. You don't sell your nation's Telecom. firm to a corporation with no experience whatsoever in Telecommunications. It will lead to inefficiencies, higher costs and higher prices. I'll rather it be sold to a foreign firm that knows what they're doing so that things can be done right.

Donzman,

You are wrong again.

The new NITEL can not afford to charge higher fees. I repeat, the new NITEL can not afford to
charge higher fees otherwise Transcorp might as well say good bye to their investment right now.
Poor service and higher fees are part of the reason NITEL found itsself on Transcorp's crosshair.

Do you understand what Technical Partner means? That is where British Telecom (BT) factors in
the deal. Instead of giving it all to the foreign companies as usual, you retain majority ownership
and leverage on their technical expertise. See, that is part of the essence of Transcorp vision.

Lets try to keep an open mind on this, I know this is hard to do given our history as a nation and
the leaders will have been cursed with.

I hear TransCorp will be listed soon on the NSE in a matter of weeks, I'm considering buying some shares once listed before the IPO, Anyone know how much it'll be listed for?

It will be going for N10/share

Panadol,

Is that factual (insider information) or just some speculations that have floated around? Rumours had it
that the IPO will be set at N10, but that was even way before NITEL was acquired.

Seriously, I did talk with someone over there this week and from what I understand the evaluation or
prep work is still in progress (IPO price has to reflect the NITEL assets now) - if that holds true, where
did the N10 come from?

I read an article few days ago that there would be seperate IPO's for TransCorp and Nitel, It'll be interesting to see how that works out. Also, if that is the case, I wonder which would represent the best value given that Nitel is perhaps the flagship and crown jewel in the group.

I understand there is a lot going on with valuations and revaluations of assets, but the sooner they start putting out clearer information, the better it'll be for TransCorp as serious investors (like my humble self) would be better prepared.

Also, it was rumoured the listing would be in early October, then I think a spokesman said December,

I doubt NITEL will be more valuable than it's parent company Transcorp. NITEL is in a colossal mess and will find it hard to compete with the GSM companies and other private telecommunication firms. They need to update their technologies, reorganize the firm, get into the market and hope to get a share of the telephone market that is currently being flatly dominated by GSM firms which doesn't look to change anytime soon. They they have to become PROFITABLE, that is a huge task and who will they get to undertake this?

The previous management model was extremely flawed, goverment interferance + lack of professionalism making matters even worse. This has always been the bane of Nitel.

It may be a collosal mess at the moment, but with the valuable fixed/mobile line assets Nitel owns + a dynamic, accountable and effective management team, fotunes should change drastically in 3 - 4 years.

Nitel will not be more Valuable than it's Parent company, but I believe it remains the crown jewel given it's potential. Should Nitel achieve half it's potential, it can grow annual revenues way over N100 Billion naira per annum and this is inspite of competion from Globalcom, MTN and Celtel . Given the Nigerian population, the tele-density is still very low and there is room for market penetration.

Invest in NITEL or Transcorp shares? That's a hard one, but I personally will go for Transcorp.

Come to think of it, I am sure once they take over formally, NITEL and MTEL will operate as
completely independent companies. NITEL will need more cash infusion than MTEL. I believe
MTEL is in the middle of deploying or upgrade some of their facilities/equipment already. Thus,
it might take a Little longer before NITEL can return to profitability.

With that in mind, investing in Transcorp's shares may most likely produce immediate returns
on investment as the other business units such as MTEL, Hilton, etc may be profitable while
NITEL is still being retooled.

On the IPO, its safe to say they are gunning to have it concluded before the year runs out, I
guess that could be any time from now. Also, I have learned to get multiple sourcing for what
I read on the Nigerian online dailies, some of it is actually inaccurate. I remember one of them
was saying that Dangote had resigned from the board several weeks ago (I believe it was The
Independent), I didn't see that claim anywhere else, and you bet no retraction/correction has
been issued. Maybe one was issued in the actual newspaper hard copy, don't know.

Hi fellas, it's been interesting reading your comments on the Transcorp issue. My opinion is that in every SYSTEM [just like in Nigeria] lots of things happen. You only see what 'they' want you to see and just like apuppet show a lot goes on backstage. What I UNDERSTAND is that whinning about how monopolistic Transcorp is in reality, a lot of other sectors are still AVAILABLE for development. Nigerians subscribe to what I call the 'band wagon' syndrome and whatever works for Mr. A naturally attracts everyoneto that sector or field. We are more than 120 million in this country and nobody's thought about how to harness resources in these prospective fields. Agreed that the sectors listed as primary for Transcorp holds a lot of economic gains but the question is the vision and long term prospects of the venture. Need i remind that monopoly CAN be broken. Just like a game of chess.
Summary, THINK and you'll find something else BIGGER than 10 Transcorp's put together. TIME is the ONLY currency.

4 GODS SAKE TRANCORP BELONGS TO OBJ AND THERE IS NOTIN ANYBODY CAN DO ABOUT IT

Sopenz

I suppose you are one of those who read their newspapers backwards -maybe you
don't even bother reading at all: things like private placements, IPO, publicly traded
companies are way beyond your comprehension. Ignorance is bliss, enjoy!

4 GODS SAKE TRANCORP BELONGS TO OBJ AND THERE IS NOTIN ANYBODY CAN DO ABOUT IT

This is certainly a tale of extreme intellectual laziness, take time to read the papers and educate yourself,


BTW, had considered investing in TransCorp IPO, but I'm a little concerned they're taking too long too come to market. With competing offers like Dangote Suger (which I plan to invest in) and Intercontinental, TransCorp will have to do a lot of PR and marketing to convince people to take on the offer, I understand the market may be a little saturated at the moment, but I believe delays in taking over Nitel + the stress in the overall takeover process is likely to discourage investors,

JoshO,

I spoke to my contact over there last week and he confirmed that they are putting finishing
touches to the documentation/prospectus - announcements will be made in a week or two
regarding the IPO. Their target is still end of November.

Yes, everyone seems to be hitting the market now, I also wonder how that will affect the IPO,
but then I have been hearing about market being saturated as early as last year when the
banks were shoring up their capitalization, it didn't seem like it damper-ed the market this year
in any way.

Granted, they started preparing for the IPO before NITEL came into the picture and most likely
it would have been over by now has it not being for the NITEL transaction. Well, for you know,
they may have solid underwriters behind the IPO, and may still be very confident that it will
do well. We just have to find out, I suppose.

Yours truly will be looking at Dangote for sure.

Any smart individual will go for Dangote Sugar and Intercontinental Bank. Transcorp is a semi-sham, it's on a bubble at the moment. When OBJ leaves the white house, the bubble is going to burst and you might end up having to sell your shares at lower than IPO price.

Donzman,

We have been through all this before, I am simply providing the information I have to someone
that requested it. That's why its called "investment", there is always an element of risk involved.
In any case I will take my chances with Transcorp - its looking better every day, better than I had
expected.

Just in case you and others care to read, there is an article today from Businessday Online below.
Apparently, the biggest banks in the country are also incidentally some of the main institutional
investors in Transcorp, surprise!!!!!! Not only did UBA; Union Bank Plc; Wema Bank Plc and Skye
Bank provide the loan to purchase NITEL, but also First Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank and UBA
are shareholders of Transcorp as well. Sweet!

Do you honestly think you are smarter than Dangote, Femi Odetola, Jim Ovia, Elumelu, Jacob
Ajekigbe, and the top banks in the country? Maybe you are, but as for me I couldn't count
myself in a better company than where all these guys are - they certainly know something I
don't know. I am glad and I hope Nairaland will still be around a year from now, because there
is a good chance that I will be laking to the bank with other Transcopers while you and other
naysayers will still be complaing about OBJ even after he has left office. I may be wrong, but
indicators are pointing that I will be right.

Also, since you are all for purchasing Dangote's shares wholeheartedly, take a note of the firms
and movers underwriting his IPO and you will see that somehow, there is a common thread, this
same guys are either somehow invested in Transcorp or will be underwriting Transcorp's IPO!
Don't you get it that these are the folks moving the financial sector in Nigeria? You think you know
better than these guys put together? Will we see!!!


http://www.businessdayonline.com/?c=132&a=9509

I never said I was smarter than them but you can easily see Obasanjo's fingerprints all over Transcorp. If he goes down and none of his loyalists make it into Aso Rock, how will Transcorp perform?

By the way, those guys can afford to take the risk. Most of them are basking in public funds anyway,

Let's explore this OBJ's fingerprint that is supposedly all over Transcorp for a
minute. Besides inviting the initial founders together and the concessions that
were made for a refinery or cassava farming,what else exactly has OBJ done
for Transcorp that they will miss so bad once he is gone? Don't get me wrong,
having a friendly government and the ears of the president is great, but for
the most part what a business needs to succeed are ideas and captial. OBJ
has lent them the support they need to get off the ground, if they encounter
an unfriendly government who despite seeing what benefits their financial
might can bring to the economy (employment and tax wise), they just simply
have to re-tool their strategy.

Transcorp has shown very early that its able to garner capital from the private
sector - the private placement, $500Million loan for NITEL, a 1Billion Euro line
of credit from the EU, that is within its first two years of existence - that is very
remarkable and perhaps unprecedented in Nigeria. Believe it or not, both the
Nigerian banks and the EU that has been providing these credit facilities wouldn't
have done so if they did not believe somewhat in Transcorps' business model
or idea.

In the final analysis, they can have all the access, concessions, and capital in the
world, but if the ideas are not there or not well executed, they are abound to fail.
I guess that also goes for most businesses. From what I understand, part of their
strategy involves partnering with local companies hence the Femi Otedola's Zenon
Oil refinery arrangement, and Dangote's Industries' arrangment as well. I am sure
mistakes will be made along the way, but as long as they are ableto learn from
those mistakes, they will evolve to become a potent force.

As for public funds, please show me any thriving sector of the Nigerian economy
that has not be tainted with public funds.

The alliance between Transcorp and Etisalat of Abu Dhabi, UAE for the acquisition of majority stake in the Nigerian Telecommunications has finally collapsed. Etisalsat pulled out of the consortium because of inappropriate and loosely defined terms of relationship between the two companies.

Indeed, a lot of questions are being asked as to the surival of transcorp in the post - OBJ era because even in the pre - OBJ era they are barely making progress, as a matter of fact they are walking backwards.

For those who care to read, here is some interesting article from the BBC with respect
to NITEL way before Transcorp was born.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1684149.stm



Also, here is BPE's side of the story, long but informative, NITEL Privatization Facts.

http://www.ngex.com/business/public/newsinfo.php?nid=26

Great reading all ur comments.

Dangote Sugar refinery IPO is out at N18, any news on Transcorp IPO
Thanks

Ibrahym

http://www.punchng.com/Default.aspx, Ibrahym, take a look there.

When is the IPO date and offer price range?

Crisis Rocks Transcorp, Dangote Resigns

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=65501

Things fall apart. The centre cannot hold!