Mobile operator in South Africa, Telkom, has announced that it has sold its tower company, Swiftnet, to Towerco Bidco Proprietary Limited, a group of equity investors headed and managed by Actis.
Telkom Group CEO, Serame Taukobon, confirmed the sales in a statement seen by News.ng on Sunday.
The South Africa-based company bills itself as one of the largest companies registered in the Republic of South Africa and they are the largest communications services provider on the African continent based on operating revenue and assets.
Actis owns 70% of the purchasers’ shares, while Royal Bafokeng Holdings owns the remaining 30%.
Swiftnet is a self-acclaimed leading tower company in South Africa that owns a portfolio of 6,200 communication towers.
Sources privy to the matter claimed that the transaction was completed for a total of $343 million (R6.5 billion).
Telkom’s strategic goals, which include maximising shareholder value, are in line with this deal.
Then-CEO Sipho Maseko originally announced the company’s decision to break up with Swiftnet in September 2021, claiming that the unit’s value wasn’t accurately reflected in the company’s shares.
The company’s overarching objective of concentrating on core business operations while strengthening its financial position, lowering debt, and increasing liquidity is in line with Telkom’s intention to divest Swiftnet.
