The Race To Acquire Vmobile Nigeria Is On
2006-05-22 11:53:59 | Viewed 4483 times
SA-based Econet Wireless and Netherlands-based Celtel, both Pan-African cellular network operators, will go toe-to-toe in the next few weeks in a bid to acquire Nigeria's third-largest cellphone provider, Vmobile. Celtel, which was itself acquired by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications (MTC) in a US$3,4bn deal last year, said at the weekend it had a "conditional" deal to buy 65% of Vmobile for $1bn.
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The deal is conditional because Econet, which holds 5% of Vmobile, has a pre-emptive right to make an offer to shareholders. The company said on Tuesday it would immediately dispatch a team of 20 experts to begin a due diligence process. This is expected to take about two weeks. Econet CEO Strive Masiyiwa is in fighting spirit. "It is premature for MTC to say that they have bought the company," he said in a statement last week. Vmobile has long been courted by players in the global telecom industry, keen to boost their presence in Africa. Vodacom and Virgin Mobile previously formed a partnership to bid for the company, but walked away earlier this year when agreement about a fair valuation couldn't be reached with Vmobile shareholders. |
Econet Wireless has also been involved in an arbitration process, triggered by an earlier attempt to sell Vmobile to Vodacom. According to Masiyiwa, this arbitration is continuing.
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