@ksh@T 20 Report post Posted June 24, 2008 NEW DELHI: Tata Communications said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a further 30 percent stake in South Africa's No. 2 fixed-line operator Neotel from two South African state-run firms. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Tata Communications said the deal would leave it and another Tata group firm, Tata Africa, holding 56 percent of the telecoms operator. "The agreement is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent, some of which have a period of up to 180 days to be fulfilled," the company said in a statement, without elaborating. Tata Communications is part of India's Tata group. Neotel, which is also managed by the Tatas, was launched in August 2006 and is a competitor to Africa's largest telephone group, Telkom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honest 836 Report post Posted June 24, 2008 Tatas hike stake in SA’s Neotel to 56% 25 Jun, 2008, 0322 hrs IST MUMBAI: The Tata group has increased stake in its South African telecom venture, Neotel, by 30%, thereby taking the total equity in the communications company to 56%. Neotel, which is in the start-up phase having become operational two years ago, is valued at under $100 million and the stake was acquired for “a nominal amount,” sources told ET. Tata group companies, Tata Africa and Tata Communications (TC, earlier VSNL), bought out the 30% held by South African state companies Transnet and Eskom. Transnet is the custodian of port, rail and pipeline infrastructure in South Africa while Eskom generates, transmits and distributes electricity. Out of the 30%, around 3% has been bought by Tata Africa, the group’s holding company for South African operations while the rest has been acquired by TC, said sources. Of the 26% held by the Tatas prior to the current deal, 2% was with Tata Africa while 24% was with TC. With this transaction, TC holds around 51% in Neotel. The other shareholders of Neotel are Nexus, Communitel and Two Telecom Consortium. TC’s majority stake will help in faster decision-making at Neotel. “In order to get the business growing, it was important for Tatas to have a majority holding. It is crucial for timely decision-making. Moreover, TC’s technological capabilities can be provided to Neotel more seamlessly in case of majority control,” an analyst told ET. TC senior vice-president (corporate strategy) Srinivasa Addepalli declined to comment. “This agreement is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent, some of which have a period of up to 180 days to be fulfilled,” TC said in a statement in Mumbai. Neotel is the second telecommunications network operator in South Africa. When it started operations in 2006, Neotel announced a capex of Rand 11 billion ($1.3 billion) for developing its networks and services. It provides a range of voice and data services for businesses, wholesale network operators and providers. Neotel also connects the major centres in South Africa within the country and to the world. It is directly linked into Tata Communication’s global tier-1 network. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FEVIN-RAJ 61 Report post Posted June 25, 2008 why alll these guys are intersted in South African companys only? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
srk006 21 Report post Posted June 25, 2008 South Africa is the next big thing in telecom after India. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
