Benin has revived plans to sell up to 80% of struggling state-owned Libercom, more than four years after a similar process failed.
Following a ministers’ council last week, the government said it was looking for an investor or private international…
Benin has revived plans to sell up to 80% of struggling state-owned Libercom, more than four years after a similar process failed.
Following a ministers’ council last week, the government said it was looking for an investor or private international telecoms operator, potentially in a consortium, to take a majority stake in the company.
The aim is to “ensure the development of [Libercom’s] potential through investments that allow for a more efficient use of technical resources available through [its] technology-neutral licence”, it said in a notice.
The government has not yet called for offers and did not disclose when the process would start.
In late 2010, six companies were shortlisted for the privatisation of Libercom’s parent Benin Telecom.
The operators were Orange, Maroc Telecom, Libya’s Lap GreenN, Sudatel’s Expresso Telecom, Tunisie Telecom and Detecon.
Final bids were expected in November that year but no deal eventuated, reportedly because of political hurdles.
Benin has a highly competitive mobile market, with five operators battling for the custom of 10.3 million inhabitants. Of these, Libercom has the fewest subscribers, while MTN and Etisalat dominate the market.
Another two African countries have recently launched privatisation processes for their state-owned operators. Both Chad and Guinea-Bissau are looking to offload 80% of Sotel and Guine Telecom, respectively. However, the Guinean process is currently on hold as the general election in the country is scheduled for March.
