Etisalat Nigeria now 9Mobile

The management of Etisalat Nigeria has resolved to change the name of the telecoms company to 9Mobile.
Newsmakers learned the decision was taken at a management meeting in Lagos, on Thursday.

The new management of the company had disclosed earlier this week it was in negotiations with UAE’s Etisalat over the continued use of the brand name.

The new Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Boye Olusanya, however, said the company had plans in place to rename the company if negotiations fail.

“We’re still in negotiations with Etisalat over the use of the brand name. The technical service agreement with Etisalat covered the brand name,” Olusanya had told Reuters.

Etisalat, which had a 45 percent stake in the Nigerian business, announced, in June, it had been ordered to transfer its shares to a loan trustee after talks with a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks to renegotiate a $1.2 billion loan from 2013 collapsed.

Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Etisalat International, also announced that UAE shareholders in Etisalat Nigeria, including state-owned investment fund, Mubadala, had exited the company and left the board and management.