Telkom SA SOC Ltd has received no offer or proposal from South Africa\u2019s Rain to merge, the partly state-owned telecom company said in response to a statement from its smaller rival.<\/p>\n
Internet provider Rain said earlier Thursday it had asked to pitch a tie-up to rival Telkom to become a third major operator in the country, a challenge to a takeover proposal from MTN Group Ltd that\u2019s being discussed.<\/p>\n
Rain\u2019s largest shareholders include investment vehicles owned by billionaire Patrice Motsepe and former banking executive Michael Jordaan.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelkom notes the media statement by rain titled \u2018Rain proposes merger with Telkom\u2019,\u201d the company said in e-mailed answers to questions. \u201cTelkom can confirm that no offer or proposal has been received.\u201d<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s Takeover Panel told Rain to retract the statement as it didn\u2019t have prior approval.<\/p>\n
Telkom shares gained 5.9% as of 16:14 p.m. in Johannesburg, valuing the company at R24 billion ($1.5 billion).<\/p>\n
MTN announced talks to buy Telkom last month in a deal that would create the biggest South African mobile-phone operator by number of subscribers. The move faces antitrust hurdles as it would create an effective duopoly, a challenge Rain said would not be an issue under its plan.<\/p>\n