South African telecoms leader MTN is on the lookout for an acquisition in Zimbabwe, according to local publication the Financial Gazette.
MTN executives met with government officials in Harare, a finance official confirmed to the daily, saying “they…
South African telecoms leader MTN is on the lookout for an acquisition in Zimbabwe, according to local publication the Financial Gazette.
MTN executives met with government officials in Harare, a finance official confirmed to the daily, saying “they were exploring”.
Back in 2009, MTN was rumoured to have looked at a 60% stake in the local unit of Telecel. It said at the time that it believed the government of neighbouring Zimbabwe was showing commitment to “grow and redevelop the economy”.
Earlier this week, the government cancelled Telecel’s licence, accusing it of failure to pay a US$137.7 million fee. It said it would likely forcefully buy the company, with a view to selling it to a new owner, while prohibiting Telecel from carrying out a sale of its own to local private equity firm Brainworks Capital.
Telecel is owned by Vimpelcom unit Global Telecom Holding (60%) and local consortium Empowerment Corporation (40%). Brainworks had agreed in principle to buy the latter’s stake for US$20m in cash.
MTN’s CEO is Zimbabwean born Sifiso Dabengwa.
In 2010, MTN attempted to buy a 49% stake in NetOne, but government opposition derailed the deal.
The local market is led by Econet Wireless, which has nine million subscribers, followed by Telecel and NetOne.