DUBAI-based Oger Telecom has received numerous offers from SA and international companies for its 75% stake in Cell C, the country’s third mobile phone operator, according to Business Day.
“Six groups approached us with interest in acquiring our stake in Cell C,” Oger Telecom’s chief legal officer and deputy CEO Mazen Abou Chakra told Business Day this week. “No decision has been taken. We are very happy with the good performance of Cell C over the past 12 to 18 months and we remain fully committed to the business until a decision to sell our stake is taken.”
Saudi Telecom Company, which indirectly owns a significant stake in Cell C, has reportedly reduced its investment in the mobile operator by a whopping R1.2 billion.
Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko hinted at his interest in Cell C in an interview with Reuters last week, saying SA’s third-largest mobile operator was “an interesting proposition” and “at the right price, I’m a buyer”.
In a way, Cell C needs a lasting solution to its unending challenges in order to provide real competition.
Cell C, South Africa’s third mobile phone operator, will continue to be faced with serious challenges over the next few months, and any takeover bids will be welcomed by the market.
Clearly struggling Cell C is looking for a parent company with deep pockets. It unsuccessfully tried to partner with Telkom Mobile, a cellular unit of Telkom Group. It has also unsuccessfully experimented with mobile virtual network op e r at o r s who piggyback on its network.
These included ventures with Virgin Mobile and Red Bull Mobile.
