Completata la vendita del proprio 50% in Vodacom al partner Vodafone, l'ex incumbent sudafricano Telkom disporrebbe di liquidità adeguata ad acquistare un operatore di telefonia mobile o a sviluppare una rete mobile per conto proprio.
Nel primo caso, secondo voci di mercato riprese dalla Reuters, potrebbe esserci un interesse a rilevare Cell C, il cui azionista di riferimento Oger Telecom potrebbe essere interessato a vendere, dopo aver inutilmente provato a formulare un'offerta per l'acquisto dell'intera Telkom, offerta rigettata dai sudafricani.
S.Africa Telkom buys rest of Multi-Links for $130 mln
- Reuters, Thursday January 22 2009
* Buys 25 percent of Multi-Links for $130 million
* Part of African expansion strategy
* Shares up 1 percent, outpace weaker market
(Adds CEO quote, analyst, shares)
By Gugulakhe Lourie
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 22 (Reuters) - South Africa's Telkom bought the 25 percent of Nigerian firm Multi-Links it did not already own for $130 million as it seeks to offset sagging revenues at home by expanding elsewhere in Africa.
South Africa's biggest fixed-line phone operator bought the private telecommunications operator from Kenston Investment Ltd. The deal was effective from Jan. 21, it said on Thursday.
Multi-Links, which operates a fixed wireless network on the CDMA platform in Nigerian cities, acquired a licence in 2006 to offer voice, Internet and data services.
The Nigerian cell phone market, the most populous and lucrative in Africa, is far from reaching saturation. It is also one of the world's fastest-growing telecoms markets, with a penetration rate of just 30 percent compared with 76 percent in the more developed South African market.
"Our 100 percent ownership of Multi-Links, therefore, not only meets Telkom's broader investment criteria but also provides us with the opportunity to expand our mobile capability," Telkom CEO Reuben September said in a statement.
Telkom is selling its 50 percent stake in mobile phone operator Vodacom to Britain's Vodafone for 22.5 billion rand ($2.23 billion). The sale will provide Telkom with a war chest of more than 10 billion rand, which it wants to use to become Africa's leading fixed, mobile and data service provider.
The sale will give Telkom the cash to possibly buy outright another mobile operator -- some analysts have speculated it might look at South Africa's No. 3 operator Cell C -- and further invest in its African operations.
News of the acquisition helped boost shares in Telkom, which had gained 1.09 percent to 112.72 rand by 1414 GMT, outperforming the Top-40 index, which was down 1.42 percent.
Rajay Ambekar, a telecoms analyst at Cadiz African Harvest, said the acquisition of the 25 percent stake made strategic sense but that Telkom may be paying over the odds.
"The price it paid seems a bit steep," he said, noting the Nigerian naira had weakened substantially against the dollar in recent months and that telecom assets have fallen in value given the global financial crisis.
In May 2007, Telkom acquired 75 percent of Multi-Links for $200 million.
"I guess they have to show us why they have overpaid," Ambekar said. "But with 100 percent control they can probably do various things that can increase the value of Multi-Links."
Multi-Links increased its subscribers to 2.11 million by Oct. 31 from 1.78 million a month earlier. It benefited from the launch of broadband EVDO, an equivalent of 3G technology.
MTN, Sub-Saharan Africa's biggest mobile phone operator, has more than 18.6 million subscribers in Nigeria, its biggest market.
Telkom is also expected to make an announcement about the sale of part of its stake in pay-TV division Telkom Media by the end of this month.
Telkom, which has a 66 percent stake in Telkom Media, said in June it was selling its stake and had identified a potential investor to buy a substantial portion of it. (Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie and Serena Chaudhry, editing by Will Waterman)
