Paratus Namibia Holdings Limited has continued raising money on the stock exchange for the expansion of its operation. The Windhoek based company has announced the listing of a new debt instrument with the successful issuing of a N$175 million five-year senior unsecured note.
The bond is under Paratus Namibia’s N1 billion approved Domestic Medium Term Note Programme on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX). This is the fifth note issued under this programme.
The company said bids to the value of U$557 million were received from nine bidders. Paratus Namibia is currently undergoing a righs issue to expand its existing offerings by adding mobile connectivity and new core systems which, when coupled with the infrastructure that has already been developed and deployed by Paratus, will allow Paratus to more effectively and efficiently use its existing network to provide for customer needs.
The intended use of proceeds will allow for maximum benefit to be derived from existing networks and infrastructure, while introducing new technologies and services to complement Paratus’ current offerings in order to grow its customer base and revenue generation capabilities.
Paratus Namibia Holdings (previously Nimbus) has undergone a rights issue in July 2018, raising an additional N$103M.
Schalk Erasmus, CEO Paratus Group told Observer Money recently that funds from the bonds will be allocated to expand Paratus Namibia’s existing offerings by enhancing its core systems and infrastructure.
The investments are expected to enable the company to adapt and transform its business model to meet the evolving demands of customers and the market. Paratus operates in seven African countries, Angola, Botswana, DRC, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
Erasmus said proceeds of the rights issue will be invested in revenue generating assets. With these investment, the company plans to increase its addressable market size from 90 000 connections to 2,3 million potential connections.
The investments will boost the existing business revenue generation capability and thus surely increase value to both existing and new potential investors.
Erasmus said the company main focus is national network expansion to connect more Namibians across.
He said the capability that digitisation brings to its operation has a significant impact on how the company will compete in the future. The company is focused on the value proposition to its customers and do not believe competing on price is strategically sustainable in the long run, he said.
“It is a recipe that has served us well over the last 5 years and key driver for innovation and adapting to what our customers need.”
