Top Stories
Exposed! N100b road contracts scam rocks Edo
From COLLINS EKE, Benin
AN alleged
monumental fraud running into billions of naira allegedly squandered on the
Benin City road network, by Governor Oserhiemen Osunbor has sparked off a
cold war in Edo State....
'Independence Day is time to bless Nigeria...
Let's
celebrate our country’
Being a keynote address by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, President, Believers Loveworld
Inc. (a.k.a Christ Embassy) at the Grand Launch of the 2008 edition of ReachOut
Nigeria...
Presidency
starves INEC of funds
By CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
THE Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), still gasping for breath, amid unending
attacks from the public, surprisingly, in recent times has been suffering
.....
Nigeria
at 48: No cause for cheers - AC leader
From CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
AS Nigerians take stock of the dividends of 48 years of freedom from colonial
rule, while curiously awaiting the mandatory Independence Anniversary...
MIKANO
Generators
By KELECHI DECA
MIKANO Generators
is a subsidiary of Mikano International Limited, a company with 27 years experience
in the areas of Building/Civil Engineering Construction and Steel...
ReachOut Nigeria
campaign reaches climax
By AZUKA MORDI
AT the grand launch of this year's edition of the ReachOut Nigeria with Rhapsody
of Realities campaign, President of Believers Loveworld (also known as) Christ
Embassy, Pastor Chris....
NEWS
• Shake-up imminent
in ANPP
• As Third Mainland bridge
re-opens: Lagosians heave sigh of relief
• Court orders arrest of
PDP chieftain in Kaduna
• Imo deputy governor clashes
with kinsmen
• Principal,
vice escape kidnap attack
• Village
head, four others quizzed
• Group alerts of plot to
rip-off Rivers officials
• Forum cautions Ijaws on
minister for Niger Delta
• National Identity Cards
in a fix
• Group wants WAEC probed
• Nobody can stop my judicial
commission of inquiry –Jang
• Fayose commends Oni's
unity govt plan
• Shun ostentatious living,
Moslems told
• NEMA advises stake-holders
on disaster management
• I'm
okay with JTF operations –New Defence Chief
• Monarchs endorse Akpabio
for second term
• Anambra PDP Crisis:
Ubah hails Gana's committee
• Rivers to get tourism
dev. commission
• COREN goes tough on erring
members
• 22 German students take
courses in Hausa
• Varsity don raises alarm
over materialism
• Speak your mother-tongue,
Ohakim tells Nigerians
Telkom's
takeover offer: Adenuga still interested
By OLUTAYO OLUBI
THE story of Africa's biggest fixed-line phone company, Telkom South Africa
Limited, is quite simple, the company is in search of a core investor for
obvious reasons, the state owned telecom giant needs to be efficient. According
to the company, it has been approached by companies interested in ``one or
more components'' of its business and isn't in any talks beyond those already
disclosed. But with the investor with the most probable chance, South Africa's
Mvelaphanda Holdings Limited, ditched, the bid for the company seem wide open.
As at the last check, Nigeria's Mike Adenuga, who controls Nigerian mobile-phone
company Globacom Nigeria Limited is interested. National Daily reliably gathered
that Telkom chief executive, Reuben September, was understood to have met
Adenuga to discuss Adenuga's bold bid to create a pan-African telecoms giant
by acquiring Telkom.
Adenuga has submitted a proposal to take over Telkom so he can merge his cellular
operator, Globacom, with Telkom's 50 percent stake in Vodacom. Globacom cannot
bid for the Vodacom shares directly, as Vodacom's other 50 percent-owner,
Vodafone, has the first right of refusal. So it can only access Vodacom by
acquiring Telkom outright, although Adenuga's plan leaves Telkom's fixed-line
operations as a listed entity, with no change in the shareholders. Globacom
would then merge with half of Vodacom, leaving Vodafone holding the other
50percent.
Early in September, the keenness of Mvelaphanda Holdings Limited, who then
insisted that its bid for all of Telkom was based on the condition that it
(Telkom) sells its Vodacom stake to Vodafone, which owns the rest, forced
Telekom and Adenuga to tread cautiously as Telkom issued a cautionary, acknowledging
that it had received offers Adenuga. Its statement said it "has received
a number of inquiries and expressions of interest in respect of one or more
components of its business.
Telkom, emphatically added that it has not entered into any discussions in
respect of any of these expressions of interest." But it was on record
that Telkom's chief executive, Reuben September and Adenuga had now met. Telkom
said it would evaluate any proposal it received to determine if it was in
the best interests of shareholders, and if it was capable of being implemented
in full.
Vodacom CEO-designate Pieter Uys said Telkom had not briefed him on the Globacom
offer. Uys is highly familiar with Adenuga and Globacom, however, as Vodacom
once made overtures to buy Globacom when it was anxious to enter Nigeria for
itself.
"We know Mike very well," he said. "Once we tried to enter
Nigeria by working with him, but we didn't get to the point where we did detailed
due diligence because the price was too high."
Few financial details are set out in the offer sent last week. But it proposes
that the new entity, dubbed Vodaglo, would be listed in Johannesburg with
a market valuation of about R140 billion. It would be equally owned by Globacom
and Telkom.
Uys said the question now was whether Telkom's shareholders, which include
the government with 39 percent, would be interested in the bid by Nigeria's
second-largest cellular operator. He said the proposed merger would not resolve
Vodacom's problem of having two companies as its joint parents. "I need
one boss, which makes it easier to get strategies approved. Having two bosses
with different interests is always difficult. I prefer having a majority shareholder
in order to drive strategic growth, whichever way it goes."
Although Globacom would not touch Telkom's fixed-line business, the two operators
could work together in the rest of Africa to offer a bundle of fixed, mobile
and internet services. That expansion with a cellular partner is what Telkom
has been striving for, but has failed to achieve with Vodacom.
Globacom is the second-biggest provider of mobile-phone services in Nigeria,
Africa's most populous country, with about 12.5 million subscribers and also
operates in Benin and Ghana. It competes with Johannesburg-based MTN Group
Limited, the biggest provider in Nigeria. Vodacom has previously tried and
failed to acquire phone companies in Nigeria.
