The South African government received an unsolicited bid for its 40.5% stake in Telkom SA from investment firm Toto Consortium, valued at $433 million.
This follows an announcement that MTN Group Ltd. is planning to acquire part of the telco.
Bloomberg reports that the Telkom bid is based on a 30-day average share price of the firm, plus a 20% black empowerment discount.
MTN announced last month it’s planning a takeover offer for Telkom, sparking interest in the smaller South African operator, with internet-service provider Rain also announcing its intention to combine with Telkom.
State-run Telkom said it would consider an offer or proposal from Rain to merge, once received.
The carriers however note that the discussions are still in very early stages and there is no certainty it would be completed.
The proposed takeover would catapult MTN to be the leading telco in South Africa overtaking Vodacom. According to data from GSMA Intelligence, here is how the top three telcos rank according to subscriber numbers.
- Vodacom – 51.4 million
- MTN – 39 million
- Telkom – 16.8 million
Toto Consortium previously made an approach to acquire South African Airways that was rejected within days.
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