Brazilian operator Oi is reportedly in talks to sell a 25% stake in Angola’s largest mobile operator Unitel for more than US$2bn.
The holding could be sold to one of Unitel’s other shareholders, which include Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos,…
Brazilian operator Oi is reportedly in talks to sell a 25% stake in Angola’s largest mobile operator Unitel for more than US$2bn.
The holding could be sold to one of Unitel’s other shareholders, which include Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, oil company Sonangol and local investor Vidatel, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.
BTG Pactual is reportedly advising Oi on the sale process.
Disclosing its Q2 results a week ago, Brazil’s fourth-largest mobile operator said the Unitel stake was classified as a “financial asset available for sale”. Oi has estimated the fair value of the asset to be around R$4bn (US$1.8bn).
Oi took control of the Unitel stake a few months ago following its merger with Portuguese incumbent Portugal Telecom, in which it now has a 75% interest. This means Oi’s own economic interest in the Angolan company is 18.8%.
Earlier this week, Oi hired BTG Pactual as a “commissioner” to review options for acquiring Telecom Italia’s 67% stake in rival TIM Brasil. Analysts have been quoted as saying that a sale of Unitel could help Oi, which is Brazil’s most indebted mobile player, fund a potential bid for TIM.
Oi declined to comment on the report.
