The executive committee of South African operator Vox Telecom has decided to take the company off the market and pursue a stand-alone business strategy, BusinessTech reports. Chief executive officer Jacques du Toit was cited as saying: ‘The main reason for this decision was based on the fact that the current investors have faith in the economy and specifically the ICT sector …They also believe in the strength of the Vox brand and the human capital to deliver the long-term strategy.’ The executive added that the company will now focus on entering new markets, launching new products, lowering costs and ‘aggressive’ customer acquisitions.
As reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate in July 2014, the private equity shareholders of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed company were mulling an exit from the telecoms market, with du Toit revealing at the time that the company would explore different options including a trade sale or investment from a new partner seeking to expand in Africa; the executive, however, disclosed that an initial public offering (IPO) was not on the table. ‘Given the current activity in the telecoms landscape, we are using this opportunity to explore several options … The shareholders will sell but it depends on the price’.