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Article: Mobile in South Africa: On the back foot.
- Article from:
- Total Telecom Magazine
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Terrapinn Holdings Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Anneli Groenewald and Ian Kemp
AFTER MONTHS of deliberations, Vodafone in October made an offer of R22.5 billion ([euro]1.65 billion) for an additional 15% stake in South African mobile operator Vodacom, which it jointly owns with Africa's largest fixed-line operator Telkom.
Should the deal go through, it is another springboard for Vodafone's expansion in Africa (Total Telecom, October, p.7). But the future looks more challenging for Telkom, which as part of the deal would be forced to unbundle its remaining 35% stake in Vodacom to its shareholders through a listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
For years Telkom has been boosted by ...