Telkom walks away after Cell C rejects offer

Telkom has withdrawn a cautionary notice to shareholders about its proposed acquisition of Cell C after the board of the mobile operator spurned its approaches.

Telkom said two weeks ago that it was interested in buying the financially distressed Cell C.

“Telkom has received written notice from the Cell C board of directors rejecting its non-binding proposal,” the company said on Friday.

“The Telkom board continues to believe the offer is a compelling proposition that would have created significant value for all stakeholders including Telkom’s shareholders,” it said.

“As the offer has been rejected by Cell C’s board of directors, Telkom shareholders are advised that they are no longer required to exercise caution when dealing in Telkom securities.”

Recap plan

The rejection of the Telkom offer paves the way for Cell C to conclude a planned recapitalisation with the Buffet Consortium and other, unnamed investors. Cell C management has said the company hopes to conclude the recap before the end of the year.

Earlier this month, Cell C concluded an expanded roaming agreement with rival MTN South Africa, which will result in the former spending significantly less on its network. That agreement, which is being probed by communications regulator Icasa, was seen as the last big stumbling block to the signing of the recapitalisation agreement.  — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media