The largest mobile operator in South Africa, Vodacom announces that it is no longer pursuing the acquisition of the majority of Neotel’s assets of R7bn($445million) related to its fixed line business. The Vodafone's unit in South Africa cited 'regulatory complexities and certain conditions not being fulfilled' for the desicion.
Vodacom and Neotel have agreed that the proposed restructured transaction announced on the 8th of December 2015 can no longer be progressed.
In May 2014, Vodacom first announced its bid to combine its assets and skills with Neotel to accelerate the rollout of fibre-based services to customers and acquire, inter alia, Neotel’s licences and spectrum.
Shameel Joosub, Group CEO of Vodacom
It is disappointing that we have reached this conclusion despite all our efforts to find a way to deal with the complexities of the restructured transaction. Our ambition to increase the rollout of fibre-based broadband services to customers remains.
