Telkom on Friday confirmed what everyone already knows: that it is pursuing an acquisition of the financially troubled mobile operator Cell C.
Browsing: Cell C
On paper at least, an acquisition of Cell C by Telkom makes sense. But Cell C is arguably in worse shape today than it was two years ago when Telkom tried and failed. By Hilton Tarrant.
Communications regulator Icasa on Wednesday moved to caution those involved in various efforts to rescue mobile operator Cell C that any deal must meet “regulatory compliance requirements”.
Telkom wants to buy Cell C in a plan that will include reducing its troubled rival’s debt and renegotiating contracts with suppliers, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
As speculation swirls that Telkom has a made a third approach to Cell C about a potential acquisition, the financially distressed mobile operator on Tuesday said it is making progress on a planned recapitalisation.
Telkom will terminate 2G services in March 2020, CEO Sipho Maseko said in an interview with TechCentral on Tuesday. It will be the first national operator in South Africa to do so.
Not enough attention is paid to the extent to which Vodacom, the country’s largest mobile operator, leverages resources from (and executes the global strategy of) parent Vodafone.
Telkom issued a cautionary notice to shareholders on Tuesday saying it is in discussions in relation to a possible acquisition – and the most likely target is Cell C.
Vodacom spent almost R4.8-billion on expanding and improving its network in South Africa in the six months to 30 September 2018, an 18.2% jump from the same period a year ago.
MTN South Africa lost 300 000 customers in the quarter ended 30 September 2019, but still managed to eke out service revenue growth of 0.4%. It ended the period with 28.9 million subscribers.