Legend Web Plc, Nigeria’s first publicly listed web service supplier, plans to merge with Spectranet, Nigeria’s largest ISP by subscribers, in a deal that alerts a brand new wave of consolidation as competitors intensifies within the broadband market.
The proposed transaction, disclosed in a regulatory submitting to the Nigerian Trade (NGX) on Monday, will see each corporations mix their companies underneath a unified company construction.
The deal is pending approval from the Federal Competitors and Client Safety Fee (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC), with completion focused for Q2 2026.
The merger brings collectively two gamers which have lengthy competed for a similar city broadband prospects and alerts that Nigeria’s web service supplier market could also be getting into a consolidation section.
With infrastructure prices rising, spectrum constraints tightening, and competitors intensifying from MTN and Airtel’s house broadband arms, mid-tier ISPs face rising strain to scale or get squeezed.
Legend’s board, which accredited the transaction in October 2025 earlier than shareholders ratified it in November, framed the deal by way of community capability and operational effectivity.
“The proposed merger aligns with Legend’s long-term technique to broaden broadband infrastructure and strengthen its place inside Nigeria’s telecommunications sector,” Legend mentioned within the submitting. “The Transaction is anticipated to ship vital strategic and monetary advantages, together with enhanced community capability by means of the combination of fibre and wi-fi infrastructure, improved operational effectivity, and expanded protection throughout key city markets.”
The mixed entity would inherit Spectranet’s established model recognition amongst house and SME broadband customers alongside Legend’s listed standing and infrastructure footprint.
The submitting didn’t disclose the monetary phrases of the transaction, together with the valuation or the construction of the share association.
The deal additionally displays broader shifts in Nigeria’s ISP market, the place scale, community high quality, and capital funding have gotten vital to survival. By merging with Spectranet, Legend is betting that consolidation can ship the size wanted to compete extra aggressively.
Spectranet, as soon as a dominant pressure in Nigeria’s mounted wi-fi section, enters the merger from a place of relative weak spot. In 2025, its lively subscriber base fell beneath 100,000 for the primary time for the reason that NCC started publishing ISP knowledge. The corporate misplaced 3,732 customers within the second quarter alone, marking its second consecutive quarterly decline.
That drop got here amid intensifying competitors from newer entrants and different applied sciences. Satellite tv for pc web supplier Starlink, for example, has recorded speedy development, rising its subscriber base considerably over the identical interval. Fibre-focused gamers like FibreOne are additionally increasing, placing extra strain on legacy wi-fi operators.
Regardless of these challenges, Spectranet stays a big participant. As of late 2024, it managed about 47.3% of Nigeria’s wi-fi ISP market and remained the biggest ISP by subscriber depend as of mid-2025. Nonetheless, its lead has been narrowing, underscoring the urgency of strategic repositioning.
For Legend Web, the merger might present a quicker path to scale than natural development alone. The corporate, which listed on the NGX in April 2025 by means of an inventory by introduction, has seen a risky inventory efficiency.
After debuting at ₦5.64 per share and climbing to a excessive of ₦10.35 in Might 2025, the inventory fell to a low of ₦4.30 in September earlier than starting a restoration. As of March 23, 2026, Legend’s shares commerce at round ₦6.00, giving it a market capitalisation of roughly ₦12 billion. The inventory has gained about 13.4% year-to-date, suggesting a modest return of investor confidence following its post-listing swings.
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