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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
PAN-African telecommunications group, Liquid Telecom says it has received unconditional approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to acquire Neotel to the tune of $435 million.
Neotel is South Africa’s first converged communications network operator while Liquid Telecom is majority owned by Econet Global, the parent company of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe. In a statement, Liquid Telecom said its partner, a South African investment group Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) would own a 30 percent stake in Neotel.
“Liquid Telecom has received unconditional approval from the ICASA for the $435 million acquisition of South African communications network operator Neotel. This follows approval from South Africa’s Competition Commission during October 2016,” said the company.
It is believed that the combined network assets and service platforms will give Liquid Telecom unparalleled reach across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, enabling it to offer access via a single connection to more than 40 000 kilometres across border, national and metro fibre networks across 12 countries.
Commenting on the approval, Liquid Telecom chief executive officer Mr Nic Rudnick said:
“We are delighted to have received regulatory approval to complete this transaction. The combined companies will create an unparalleled footprint covering key markets across the continent, giving Liquid Telecomm a significant competitive advantage through the breadth, depth and flexibility of our consolidated networks.
“We will be able to offer African companies the highest quality and most extensive connectivity on the continent. We appreciate the efficiency with, which this transaction was dealt with by both ICASA and the Competition Commission.”
RBH chief executive officer Albertinah Kekana added: “Our decision to partner with Liquid Telecom and Neotel is in line with our diversification strategy, which seeks to invest in high growth sectors. Together, we are well positioned to expand through telecommunications infrastructure and services sector in other key markets beyond South Africa.”
Liquid Telecom was investing in Neotel’s products and services in order to support the rising demand for network services in South Africa and other African countries.
It is also hoped that Neotel would benefit from Liquid Telecom’s Pan-African experience and technology leadership, helping to enhance systems and processes across its operations as well as driving profitability.
@okazunga
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