Government rejects KT Corp stake purchase

According to Reuters, South Africa’s Telkom said today that the country’s government will not back its proposed partnership with South Korean telco KT Corp, which wants to buy a 20% post-issue stake in the South African fixed line incumbent. KT last month cut its offer for the stake by nearly a third to around ZAR3.3 billion (USD385 million). However, Telkom, which is majority government-owned, announced today that the proposed deal was presented to cabinet on 30 May but did not receive the required support. ‘Telkom was informed by the Minister of Communications… that cabinet had taken the decision not to support the transaction as proposed,’ the telco’s statement read. Telkom added that it will discuss the implications of the decision with the minister.