Two options for Nitel sale

The committee set up to investigate the five potential investors for the privatisation of Nigerian telecoms incumbent Nitel and its mobile unit M-Tel has made two recommendations, according to Telegeography quoting local reports.
The first option would…

The committee set up to investigate the five potential investors for the privatisation of Nigerian telecoms incumbent Nitel and its mobile unit M-Tel has made two recommendations, according to Telegeography quoting local reports.

The first option would be that the highest bidder, New Generation Telecommunications, be allowed to pay a US$750m deposit in the next 10 days and the second option would be that negotiations take place with the two runner-up bidders.

On February 16, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which serves as the secretary of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), announced that New Generation Telecommunications, a consortium of local rural operator GiCell Wireless, Dubai-based investment firm Minerva Group and China Unicom, had offered US$2.5bn for a 75% stake in the telecoms incumbent, a sum more than twice as high as the runner-up.

Omen International offered US$956m, while Brymedia Consortium offered US$551m and the AFZI/Spectrum Consortium offered US$375m. MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd offered US$25m for SAT-3.

Investors were invited to bid for at least 75% of Nitel or a stake on one of its units, mobile operator M-Tel, the CDMA network, SAT-3, the domestic fixed-line operator and the national fibre optic transmission backbone.

The seven-member panel which was formed by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) submitted its report to president Goodluck Jonathan.

The Nigerian authorities were not immediately available.