MTN, Vodacom eye Angola
MTN and Vodacom are believed to be interested in the African assets of Oi SA, formerly Brasil Telecom SA, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The news service said that South Africa’s two largest operators were ‘studying’ a purchase of a stake in Oi’s African businesses’, citing four people familiar with the matter.
MTN and Vodacom would aim to buy a minority stake in Unitel, Angola’s largest wireless operator.
Unitel is part of Africatel Holdings, the holding company that Oi put up for sale last in October. Oi owns 75% of Africatel, which is valued at about 5 billion reais (R23 billion), Bloomberg reported, citing one of the people.
Oi has been working on a sale of its stake in Africatel after acquiring it earlier this year as part of its merger with Portugal Telecom.
“We constantly review investment opportunities, but I can’t comment on any particular country or company,” a Vodacom spokesperson said.
“MTN continues to look for value-enhancing opportunities, including M&A, as part of its long-term growth strategy. However, we don’t comment on market speculation,” said Nik Kershaw, executive for investor relations, MTN Group.
Both MTN and Vodacom have expressed an interest in acquiring additional assets in Africa, with Ethiopia a particular target according to reports.
In September, Romeo Kumalo, chief officer of international business at Vodacom said that the group is eying new assets in Africa.
“There are lots of interesting new markets we are looking at, but the valuations aren’t right,” the executive told BusinessTech.
Vodacom has an agreement with parent company, Vodafone, to stick within Sub-Saharan Africa.
Vodacom’s current territories include Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique and Lesotho, as well as South Africa.
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