Cell C shareholder Oger Telecom has rejected a R14bn offer from Telkom to acquire its 75% controlling stake in South Africa’s third mobile telecommunications provider, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Quoting a “person familiar with the matter”, the news wire said Telkom, which was recently forced by the competition authorities to walk away from a networking-sharing deal with MTN South Africa, was now conducting a due diligence on Cell C before deciding whether to make a higher offer.
Oger is reportedly seeking R22bn and has set late November as the deadline for a new offer from Telkom.
In August, Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko was quoted by Reuters as saying that, at the right price, the company would consider an offer to buy Cell C.
“I’d like to do something with them. At the right price, I’m a buyer,” Maseko was quoted as having said. He also said Telkom had a strong balance sheet, giving it the “flexibility to pursue … options”.
Telkom shares were trading up by 1,8% shortly after 10am on Friday morning. The counter has added 20% in the past 12 months. – © 2015 NewsCentral Media