Privately owned Liquid Telecom has announced that it is buying South Africa's Neotel owned by India's Tata Communications and Nexus Connexion for ZAR6.55 billion (USD428 million).
Liquid Telecom is partnering with Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), a South African empowerment group which will take a 30 percent stake in the company.
Liquid Telecom says that the deal will create the largest pan-African broadband network and B2B telecoms provider. Its network currently spans 12 countries from South Africa to Kenya, with further expansion planned.
"Liquid Telecom is the right partner for the next phase of Neotel's evolution. We believe that Liquid Telecom will deliver on the vision of a well-connected Africa, which will augur well for the South African telecom industry and Neotel's customers," Vinod Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, said in a joint statement.
The transaction is subject to approval by South African regulatory authorities and is expected to be completed later this financial year.
Tata Communications previous attempt to sell Neotel to Vodacom failed through due to regulatory complexities.
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