TheCable

The board of directors of 9mobile says Adrian Wood, chief executive officer of Teleology Holding, exited the company because he could not meet his obligations to the consortium.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the board explained that Teleology Nigeria, the company that paid $301 million for 9mobile, is a consortium of local and foreign investors.

Wood, who was formerly the chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, was initially announced as one of the investors in 9mobile.

“These payments, as well as further due diligence and technical evaluations, led to the clearance of the sale by the NCC, and handover of 9mobile to the new owners, who announced a Board on 12 November 2018 with His Royal Highness Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero as the new Chairman,” the statement signed by Oluseyi Osunsedo, 9mobile’s regulatory and corporate affairs director read.

“While every partner in the consortium was delivering and meeting their obligations to the partnership in terms of financial resources, physical availability for crucial meetings and extensive network to help build the business, Mr Adrian Wood’s Teleology Holdings Limited, which only owned a minority stake in Teleology Nigeria Limited, failed severally and wholly to meet theirs.

“Mr Wood was not personally present for all the critical presentations made by the consortium during the bid process and failed abjectly with his financing arrangements with Swiss-based UBS Bank. In all these failings, other partners in the consortium filled the gap and pushed ahead until the sale was completed.”

The board assured subscribers and other stakeholders that the incident will not distract it from pursuing its goals considering the investment made in acquiring the company.