Wall Street Journal puts the deal between Vodacom and Neotel at close on R5 billion ($460 million), reporting that a commercial announcement is anticipated in the next two months.<\/p>\n
Mobile operator, Vodacom and fixed-line business, Neotel entered into exclusive discussions regarding a potential acquisition of 100% of the shares of Neotel by Vodacom, in September last year.<\/p>\n
In October, Bloomberg reported that\u00a0Vodacom\u2019s proposed\u00a0takeover of Tata Communications\u2019 South Africa unit would\u00a0include up to $500 million (R5.3 billion) of debt, citing\u00a0two people familiar with the negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0deal\u00a0could\u00a0be\u00a0valued\u00a0as\u00a0high\u00a0as\u00a010\u00a0billion\u00a0
Neotel\u2019s parent company, Tata Communication acquired a 2.5% stake in the operator last year, valued at R149 million, thus taking its\u00a0total share in Neotel to\u00a068.5%, and valuing the\u00a0company\u00a0at R5.9 billion.<\/p>\n
According to WSJ, Neotel boasts 152,000 customers and 1,000 employees and\u00a0contributes about 11% of Tata’s revenues.<\/p>\n
“The deal will be valued at about 28 billion rupees ($460 million) with Vodacom taking over Neotel’s debt,” it reported.<\/p>\n
“We expect to make a commercial announcement in the next two months,” a Tata executive, who declined to be named, told The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
According to WSJ, the two telco firms will initially sign a share purchase agreement and then seek approval from South Africa’s telecommunications and antitrust regulators.<\/p>\n
Vodacom-Neotel details \u201cweeks away\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vodacom Neotel deal close<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n