NTT Corp considering sale of USD800m African assets, papers say

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT Corp) is reportedly considering the sale of the African operations it acquired through the takeover of Dimension Data Holdings Ltd, and to that end, says it is amenable to approaches, according to Bloomberg citing three people familiar with the situation. The assets in question have an estimated valuation of USD800 million, according to two of the sources who wished to remain anonymous due to the confidential subject matter, although both said no deal has been reached yet. When approached, Grant Bodley, CEO of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, said ‘NTT isn’t looking to sell the business’, while representatives at NTT Corp and Dimension Data in Tokyo were not available for comment. One other suggestion could see Dimension Data’s management undertake a share buyback, the sources added. A sale of the assets would come some seven years after the Japanese behemoth expanded into Africa with the USD2.7 billion acquisition of the company which employs 31,000 people in 49 countries.