Telkom Mobile ‘bleeding money’, sale rumours swirl

South Africa’s Sunday Times has quoted Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko as saying that the company’s board is reviewing its options regarding its Telkom Mobile unit, with a long-rumoured sale now said to be more likely than ever. Maseko told the newspaper that the company wants to ‘de-risk’ the cellular arm, which is said to be ‘bleeding money’. While there have been merger discussions between market minnow Telkom and Cell C, the third largest player by subscribers, last week Telkom Mobile managing director Attila Vitai warned that such a deal would not make commercial sense, suggesting that it would simply move Telkom Mobile ‘from a loss-making fourth operator to a loss-making third operator’.