Zain expects big returns from Bharti deal
Kuwait’s Zain said on Tuesday it expects to make returns of up to US$5bn from selling its operations in Africa to India’s Bhrati Airtel for $10,7bn dollars. Under the agreement, Bharti is to pay $10bn when the deal is completed and the remaining $700m after one year of signing the agreement, the company said in a [...]
Bharti and MTN: from the altar to the battlefield
They almost tied the knot last year. But now SA’s MTN Group could soon find itself competing head-on with India’s Bharti Airtel in its own backyard. On Monday, Kuwait’s Zain announced that it had agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations until 25 March, during which time Zain will consider Bharti’s offer, believed to be worth [...]
Zain agrees to exclusive talks with Bharti
Kuwaiti telecommunications provider Zain said Monday its board agreed to enter into exclusive talks until March 25 with Bharti, India’s largest cellphone operator. Zain said a day earlier it had received a bid for the African division from an unnamed suitor, but did not name the price or respond to unsourced reports that a deal [...]
India’s Bharti said be eyeing $10bn Zain deal
Kuwaiti telecommunications operator Zain said Sunday it is considering an offer for most of its Africa businesses, a day after local media reported a bid was on the table from India’s Bharti Airtel worth up to US$10,7bn. Africa has become a key region for the Gulf mobile phone operator, known officially as Mobile Telecommunications Co, [...]
Eassy to come ashore this weekend
The second high-capacity fibre-optic submarine cable system along Africa’s east coast will be brought ashore at Mtunzini, north of Durban, this weekend. The East African Submarine System (Eassy) will join Seacom in providing connectivity to countries in East Africa when it goes live in July. Eassy, whose investors include MTN, Telkom and Vodacom, will provide [...]
Seacom rival Eassy set to hit the water
The East African Submarine System (Eassy), a 1,4Tbit/s sub-sea cable along Africa’s east coast, is on track to go live in eight months’ time, according to Neotel, one of the investors in the project. Eassy is an operator-led initiative to build a cable system along a similar but shorter route to the Seacom cable, which [...]
Union welcomes end to MTN, Bharti talks
The decision to suspend talks about a possible merger between cellphone giants MTN and India’s Bharti Airtel was welcomed by trade union Solidarity. In a statement on Thursday, Solidarity said it had been concerned about the job security of MTN employees if the merger had gone ahead. The union added that its members would only [...]
MTN, Bharti: national treasury reacts
MTN and Bharti decided to terminate merger talks, the national treasury said on Wednesday after talks between finance minister Pravin Gordhan, MTN chairman Cyril Ramaphosa and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko. “MTN advised the minister that the two companies have mutually decided to terminate further discussions on the proposed merger, as they were not able to conclude [...]
SA government torpedoes MTN, Bharti deal
India’s top mobile company Bharti Airtel said on Wednesday it and SA cellular flagship MTN Group had decided to end tie-up talks aimed at creating an emerging-market cellphone powerhouse. “Bharti and MTN have decided to disengage from their discussions when the exclusivity period ends on 30 September 2009,” Bharti said in a statement. “This structure [...]
Government denies Bharti deal support
The SA government hasn’t taken a stance on the proposed MTN-Bharti deal, the communications department said on Wednesday. “We wish to put it on record that the department and/or the government have not taken a stance on the issue as discussions between the parties are ongoing,” it said in a statement. “It is therefore incorrect [...]
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