South African cellco Telkom Mobile has denied recent reports suggesting that it has been approached by a South East Asian company for the sale of its mobile towers business in a deal that could be valued at as much as USD3 billion, Tech Central reports.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in January 2014 reports in local newspapers noted that an as-yet-unnamed investment company proposed to buy up to 1,600 Telkom towers and then build an additional 8,400 base transceiver stations (BTS), in order to raise the cellco’s competitiveness against rivals MTN South African and Vodacom. Elsewhere, another offer would see investment to the tune of USD3 billion, which would include the establishment of factories for the construction of tower infrastructure, while further details pertaining to a potential investment from a Malaysian firm remain confidential. The sources also suggested that the investment will allow Telkom to ‘free up cash flow for other CAPEX requirements, as well as provide growth potential for the mobile business and also empower and increase potential job creations’.