South African telecoms operator Vodacom has announced it will sell part of its Gateway unit to Hong Kong-based PCCW for US$26.4m in cash.
Gateway provides backhaul services using satellite capacity, as well as subsea cables, wireless and fibre …
South African telecoms operator Vodacom has announced it will sell part of its Gateway unit to Hong Kong-based PCCW for US$26.4m in cash.
Gateway provides backhaul services using satellite capacity, as well as subsea cables, wireless and fibre connectivity.
The deal covers Gateway Communications, Gateway Communications Belgium, Gateway Communications UK, Gateway Communications Mozambique and Gateway Communications France, as well as the supplier agreements and assets of Gateway Communications Africa.
The asset acquisition is part of a wider sales agreement between PCCW and Vodacom that will see the former provide the latter with international voice, satellite and data connectivity services.
Vodacom bought Gateway back in 2008 for US$675m in order “to reposition itself as a leading pan-African provider of communications services and to diversify from its current status as primarily a mobile-centric network operator,” Pieter Uys, Vodacom CEO, had said at the time.
But Vodacom was twice forced to write down its acquisition, blaming “the pricing trends in that (backhaul) market,” the company said in 2011. This gave the unit a net value of US$72m.
In late May, Gateway signed new capacity contracts with SES on NSS-703 at 313E and on NSS-5 and NSS-7, both at 340E.
“Satellite connectivity remains a core tool in connecting our customers to each other and to the rest of the world. As subsea cables bring more capacity to the coast of Africa, investing in satellite and building terrestrial networks have a great future across Africa,” Phil Braden, COO for Gateway Communications, stated on 21 May.
