Talks between India’s Tata Communications and South African operator Vodacom over a Neotel deal are reportedly being held up because of spectrum transfer issues.
A Vodacom spokesperson however played down the speculation.
In September last year,…
Talks between India’s Tata Communications and South African operator Vodacom over a Neotel deal are reportedly being held up because of spectrum transfer issues.
A Vodacom spokesperson however played down the speculation.
In September last year, Vodacom entered exclusive discussions with the owners of Neotel, which include Tata, to acquire the South African fixed-line operator.
Local regulatory authorities are now considering preventing the transfer of frequencies from Neotel to Vodacom, concerned by any form of consolidation, people familiar with the situation told the Economic Times.
If the spectrum transfer were to be blocked, the deal could fail despite all other modalities being already finalised, a source was quoted saying.
But a spokesperson for Vodacom told TelecomFinance that the spectrum issue is “not a key consideration at the moment” and would be addressed later in the process.
Tata Communications and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) were not immediately available for comment.
Neotel is majority-owned by Tata Communications, which has built up a holding of around 68.5% after assuming control with a 56% stake in 2008.
The remaining shares are held by Black Economic Empowerment entity Nexus Connexion (19%), and CommuniTel (12.5%).
Founded in 2006, Neotel is valued at around US$500m and is attractive to South Africa’s mobile operators, the largest being Vodacom, because of its fibre network and spectrum assets.