South Africa based Telecom giant, MTN Group has halted its planned sale of 53 percent of its equity stake in Mascom Wireless Botswana over the inability to meet with certain conditions regarding the transaction.
The deal was expected to give Mascom Wireless Botswana $300 million if successful.
The decision comes at a time MTN is focusing attention to high growth markets, after clashes with regulators in Nigeria, Uganda and other countries stunted its expansion plans.
The Group’s Chief Financial Officer, Ralph Mupita who announced the decision stated that since the bid was not solicited for, it was no longer up for sale.
He noted, however, that if a buyer came with an attractive offer, the company will consider it.
“In the longer term, if somebody came with a very attractive offer for the business, we’ll apply our minds then,” he said.
Mupita suggested that at other deals still in the making, which if successful, could see the Telecom giant gain 15 billion rands ($1.00 billion).
According to him, the company is looking to dispose 49 percent of its holdings in ATC Ghana and ATC Uganda, valued at 7 billion rands and 8 billion rands, respectively.
MTN is looking to dominate the continent and has embarked on a three-year plan that involves closing up shop in countries where it may never attain top two in terms of market share and selling off e-commerce assets in countries that have either run at a loss or failed to scale.
The company noted that its service revenue for the first three quarters of 2019 rose by 9.6 percent year-on-year, based on strong performances from its Nigeria and Ghana operations.
Mascom Wireless is Botswana’s leading telecommunications provider, founded in 1998. It has established a formidable history and brand that is well-known and recognized throughout the country. Providing the widest coverage in Botswana which reaches over 95% of the population, Mascom prides itself as a community-oriented corporate citizen.