Telkom, a provider of fixed and mobile services in South Africa, is reportedly mulling the sale of some of its towers in the country in order to cut costs.
A sale would enable partly state-owned Telkom, which faces tough competition from much larger…
Telkom, a provider of fixed and mobile services in South Africa, is reportedly mulling the sale of some of its towers in the country in order to cut costs.
A sale would enable partly state-owned Telkom, which faces tough competition from much larger rivals Vodacom and MTN in the mobile market, to raise between US$500m and US$1bn, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the situation.
Telkom declined to comment specifically on the report but said the company “is focused on the business of turning the company around”.
“We have a number of activities underway to review options and potential commercial opportunities across our assets, properties and infrastructure,” a spokesperson added.
Consulting firm Accenture has reportedly been mandated to work on a potential sale and bids could come as early as next week. The report suggested that potential suitors may include IHS Towers and Helios Towers, although TelecomFinance understands that the former is not focused on South Africa at present.
Both towercos, along with Eaton Towers and American Tower, have been particularly active on the African continent in the past year, acquiring thousands of mobile towers from various operators seeking to reduce their capex and bolster their balance sheet.
