MTN Hires Barclays’ Van Coller for M&A to Accelerate Shakeup

(Bloomberg) -- MTN Group Ltd. hired Barclays Africa Group Ltd.'s former investment banking chief Stephen Van Coller to run its strategy and mergers and acquisitions, further shoring up its management as it recovers from a record Nigerian fine.

Van Coller will start Oct. 1, MTN said in a statement Monday. The company, Africa's largest wireless carrier, also said Chief Financial Officer Brett Goschen is leaving after 14 years to pursue other interests. Gunter Engling, head of MTN Rwanda, will act as CFO until a replacement is named.

MTN is charting a new path after a confrontation with Nigerian authorities led to a fine of 330 billion naira ($1.2 billion), raising questions about its management capabilities. Van Coller is set to help MTN expand in areas such as mobile financial services, media and entertainment as competition in the wireless business weighs on prices and subscriber growth.

Last month, MTN named Vodafone Group Plc's Rob Shuter as chief executive officer to replace Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, who had returned to the role to lead talks over the Nigerian penalty. Shuter will start by July 1, 2017. The company also appointed a new head and CFO for the Nigerian operations, while adding other executives, including a manager from Vodafone's South African Vodacom Group Ltd. unit, and named several members to its board.

Shares of MTN advanced 0.5 percent to 142.99 rand as of 10:28 a.m. in Johannesburg.

The mobile-phone company, which is the market leader in most of the 22 countries in which it has operations across the Middle East and Africa, is seeking new sources of revenue as customers seek more from their phones than just calls. Van Coller will also help MTN expand in areas such as services for businesses, the company said.

Van Coller left his role at Barclays Africa on Friday after a decade at the lender, where as CEO of the corporate and investment banking unit he oversaw assets worth more than 250 billion rand ($17.2 billion) across 13 countries, according to MTN. Prior to joining Barclays Africa, he was managing director of investment banking at Deutsche Bank AG's Johannesburg-based unit. He will report to Nhleko, 56, who will revert to his previous role as non-executive chairman once Shuter arrives.

“MTN is confident that the process of reviewing its capacity, resources, governance and management structures will be substantially completed by year end,” the company said. The changes “will leave the group well positioned to successfully face a highly competitive environment and take advantage of new opportunities.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Loni Prinsloo in Johannesburg at lprinsloo3@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels, Ville Heiskanen