Grupo Oi SA, the debt-laden Brazilian telecoms firm, has yet to make a decision over the sale of its assets in Portugal, for which it has not received a bid, Reuters reports, citing a securities filing. Oi, which has gone on record stating its intention to dispose of non-core assets such as its 75% stake in Africatel Holdings, yesterday clarified that it has yet to receive a single bid. The securities filing came hot on the heels of media reports suggesting that Luxembourg-based Altice Group, controlled by French billionaire Patrick Drahi, was in talks to acquire Oi’s Portuguese assets.
TeleGeography notes that Africatel owns stakes in Unitel of Angola (25%), Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicacoes (CST) in Sao Tome and Principe (51%), Mobile Telecommunications (MTC) of Namibia (34%), and Cabo Verde Telecom (including mobile arm CV Movel [40%]). Further, Unitel has its own cellular subsidiaries – via Unitel International – in Cape Verde (Unitel T+) and Sao Tome & Principe (Unitel STP).