The preferred bidder for Nigeria Telecommunications Plc (NITEL) and its arm, the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication (MTEL), NATCOM Consortium, has paid $75,756,300 (about N12, 727,058,400), being 30 per cent of the $252.521 million bid price for the acquisition of the assets and business units of the two enterprises.

A statement signed, yesterday, by Head, Public Affairs, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said the payment was in line with the offer letter by the BPE to the preferred bidder, which mandates NATCOM to make an initial deposit of 30 per cent of the bid price not later than 14 days on receipt of the offer letter.

With the payment of the 30 per cent, NATCOM is expected to pay the balance of 70 per cent of the bid price within 90 days.

It said: “It is, therefore, imperative to inform creditors that disbursements to them will be considered only after full payment has been received.”

The National Council on Privatisation, NCP, at its meeting of February 27, 2012, approved the privatisation of NITEL and MTEL through “guided liquidation.”

The strategy was adopted by the NCP after due consideration of other options and in the light of the previous failed attempts to privatise the companies through Strategic Core Investor Sale and Negotiated Sale strategies following the huge liabilities to creditors to the tune of over N300 billion.

Under the guided liquidation strategy, all the core assets and business undertaking of NITEL and MTEL were to be sold as a single or multiple lots to a qualified bidder by the liquidator under the general guidance of the NCP.

According to the terms of the sale, the bidder that acquires the assets of NITEL and MTEL would continue to operate the assets to provide telecoms services. This is as against the traditional liquidation of an enterprise by asset stripping.

One of the two pre-qualified bidders, NETTAG Consortium was earlier disqualified for not meeting the requirements, but NATCOM Consortium qualified when the bid was opened on December 3, 2014, having scored an average of 92 per cent in its technical proposal, which was above the minimum pass mark of 75 per cent.

“Consequently, the Chairman of the Consortium, Dr. Olatunde Ayeni, on Monday, December 22, in Abuja, signed the Assets Sale Agreement and was given the Offer Letter by the BPE,” the statement added.