Sipho Maseko mulling Telkom bid: sources
Corporation is backing a possible bid led by the former chief executive of Telkom for a 35% stake in the company, according to people familiar with the matter.
The PIC, which manages more than R2.5-trillion in assets, is in talks to team up with the Sipho Maseko’s investment vehicle Afrifund and Mauritius-basedin a potential offer for the stake in the partly state-owned company, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
The 35% stake could also be combined with the PIC’s current shareholding to boost the overall holding of the group, they said.The talks are ongoing and details of a possible offer could change, the people said. Telkom said the company was in a closed period, and would update the market on 13 June on its strategy to unlock value. The PIC and Axian Telecom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Maseko declined to comment on the matter.
There is also a possibility that the group would try to buy Telkom’s fibre and tower units, and combine them with Axian’s assets to create an African-focused infrastructure company, said the people. Such an agreement would further merge the mobile businesses of the two firms, and Telkom’s BCX unit could be sold, said the people.
While all South African mobile operators have been struggling with myriad challenges, including nationwide power cuts, vandalism of infrastructure and high unemployment, larger rivals Vodacom Group and MTN Group have been able to maintain growth and emerge as the country’s dominant providers. Telkom, a former state-owned monopoly that controlled the legacy landline business, has spent years trying to reinvent itself as a mobile provider but hasn’t been able to keep up.
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