MTN merger talks with Telkom stall

Talks between South African mobile operators MTN Group and Telkom have stalled, following Rain’s proposal to Telkom.

The negotiations have reportedly been stalled, according to Bloomberg, but aren’t thought to have been abandoned.

MTN Group has been interested in a merger deal with Telkom for some time, with a potential deal enabling the company to become the number one operator in the country.

However, Rain’s recent proposal to Telkom has thrown a spanner in the works for MTN Group, with discussions over price and other terms said to have stalled.

Rain recently submitted a proposal for Telkom to acquire it. It comes only a couple of months after South Africa’s regulatory body, the Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP), said that Rain’s previous proposal for a merger with fellow telco Telkom is ‘unlawful.’

The latest proposal is said to have been considered by Telkom, while Bloomberg reports that MTN is waiting for more clarification from Telkom, before re-opening merger talks.

If MTN does manage to merge with Telkom, the company will combine MTN’s 35 million mobile customers, with Telkom’s 15 million. This will enable the operator to surpass the estimated 45 million connections that market leader Vodacom has. Rain, however, is only estimated to have around two million customers. Data Center Dynamics