Telekom SA considering Vodacom sale

South African carrier Telekom SA has announced that it has opened discussions which could see it sell off its 50 per cent stake in cellular player Vodacom to partner investor Vodafone, according to local press reports.

Telekom, which is the largest fixed line player in South Africa, is understood also to be considering a marriage of what would remain of the company with fixed and mobile player MTN.

Vodafone has always favoured full ownership of its international interests, and it is widely felt that Arun Sarin, Vodafone CEO, would be more thtan keen to absorb the 50 per cent of Vodacom that he does not already control.

In subscriber terms, Vodacom is South Africa’s leading cellular player by some distance. The firm also holds stakes in cellular carriers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania. Full ownership of the stakes in these markets (which range fro 51 per cent to 90 per cent) would give Vodafone the chance to further drive its emerging market expansion strategy.

The dominant pan-African mobile carriers today are MTN and MTC, both of which have footprints that reach a lot further than Vodacom’s.