High Court Draws 9ive From 9Mobile
9Mobile which postponed its planned sale to January 16 2018 may not even continue the process. There is an urgent issue to handle: A Lagos Federal High Court has nullified the ex parte order (temporary order) approving the appointment of its interim board, Premium Times reports.
The nullification followed dismissal of the Preliminary Objection filed by United Capital Trustees Ltd in response to the application by Spectrum Wireless, a shareholder of EMTS [9Mobile parent]. Spectum’s application was for a nullification of the ex parte order by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court.
Spectrum had claimed that the order was obtained by misrepresentation of facts that alienated its interests in the EMTS.
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The Interim Board of EMTS had recently received bids from about five bidders in its intended sale of the telecommunication company which was scheduled to be concluded by December 31, 2017, but was recently moved to January 16, 2018.
This is a big deal - if Spectrum does not have confidence that the banks would represent its interests, it means the eventual buyer of the 9Mobile asset would not have a good night sleep. The implication is that what Barclays Africa is doing to find a buyer for 9Mobile may not even hold up in court. If the Board is not constituted perfectly, the decisions it has made could also be challenged. And that means anyone that buys the company could be wasting its time: court would kill the deal.
