Johannesburg | Wednesday
SOUTH Africa’s transport utility Transnet has sold its 20% stake in mobile operator M-Cell to a Dutch company, Ice Finance BV, the Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday.
The proceeds from the sale are about R5,7-billion ($475-million), representing an 18-percent premium over the share’s current trading price.
“This transaction is a critical element of the government’s overall programme of accelerated restructuring of state-owned enterprises,” Radebe said in a statement.
“Ice Finance BV is not a strategic buyer but an unlisted passive investment company incorporated in the Netherlands.”
The Dutch company is not expected to sell its shares and needs prior consent from Transnet and M-Cell stakeholder Johnnic Holdings if it decides to sell.
During the 18-month period of the transaction, Transnet will retain the voting rights and associated rights to dividends and director nominations.
The government was confident it would find an appropriate strategic equity partner for M-Cell, the country’s second largest mobile operator, during this period, Radebe said.
The National Treasury said Transnet’s sale, which would bring dollars into South Africa, would contribute to a significantly higher-than-budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year.
This would release money for spending in key priority areas such as education, health, security and social welfare, the treasury said.
Radebe told journalists that the new telecommunications legislation should be completed in time for state-owned telecommunications giant Telkom to be listed this year. – AFP