The Competition Commission today informed Telkom and MTN South Africa that it has not recommended the approval of the proposed transaction between the two companies to the Competition Tribunal.
Telkom and MTN South Africa signed a heads of agreement in 2014 to extend their existing roaming agreement to include bilateral roaming and outsourcing of the operation of Telkom’s radio access network.
“While the Commission’s decision is disappointing, Telkom and MTN have agreed not to proceed with the transaction, as we wish to avoid a protracted Tribunal hearing,” Telkom Group CEO Sipho Maseko says.
“Over the past 18 months, our focused efforts to de-risk our mobile business have delivered a mobile division that is viable and sustainable. The mobile business will break even in this financial year and we are most encouraged by the stability that has been brought into our mobile environment. As previously communicated we will continue to explore all avenues to further strengthen our mobile business,” Maseko says.