In a turn of events, the South African telecommunications corporation Telkom recently announced that it had turned down yet another offer for a takeover. This latest bid was extended by a consortium led by Sipho Maseko, previously at the helm of Telkom. Participating in this unsolicited offer, the consortium included Axian Telecom, Afrifund Investments Proprietary, the Government Employees Pension Fund, and the Public Investment Corporation.
Although the exact financials of the offer were not disclosed, it was rumored that the consortium wanted to hold a majority stake in Telkom. An analysis by the Telkom board led to extensive deliberations, including a requirement of the consortium to provide extra information about some aspects of the bid. However, after these deliberations, the bid was firmly rejected by Telkom.
Unsurprisingly, this news was accompanied by a decrease in Telkom’s share price by 7%. The CEO of Telkom, Serame Taukobong, had stated at a recent financial results presentation that the corporate entity does not require a “knight in shining armour,” regardless of who it may be. Taukobong had also stated that any proposals for a takeover would remain off the boards “until somebody comes to our [board] chair with a strong letter and also proof that they can deliver”.
Telkom’s current situation is far from ideal, considering that the company’s shares have dipped around 40% in the past year and a half. High inflation and a severe energy crisis across South Africa over the past few years have only added to the firm’s woes.
In the wake of these issues, Telkom has been mulling over numerous collaborative ventures with its domestic competitors during the past year. These discussions have included propositions to merge their operational businesses with both MTN and Rain. Regrettably, all such discussions have failed to yield any significant results before concrete offers could be made.
In related news, Netomnia recently achieved the milestone of extending full fibre network to half a million premises. Telefónica has agreed to part with a majority share of its Peruvian fibre network to KKR, and it is projected that 5G NTN-mobile market revenue will climb to $18bn by 2031. Engage with the most recent hot topics in the telecoms industry by participating in the discussions at this year’s Total Telecom Congress in Amsterdam.
