Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher
MTN and Globacom among Nitel bidders
09 February 2010
MTN of South Africa and local operator Globacom are shortlisted for a 75% stake in the Nigerian state-owned incumbent
Read more:
[Nitel]
[Nigeria]
[MTN]
[Globacom]
[Brymedia]
[Spectrum]
[Omen International]
[New Generation Telecommunications]
South Africa’s MTN and Nigeria’s Globacom are among six companies that have been shortlisted to acquire Nigerian Telecommunication, the state-owned incumbent. The Nigerian government invited bids for Nitel and its mobile arm, M-Tel.
The winner of the auction will be declared on February 16, according to a statement by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Other bidders include Brymedia, Spectrum, Omen International and New Generation Telecommunications.
Investors must either buy 75% of Nitel’s equity or stakes in any of its units, which include a fixed-line network, a mobile unit, a national fibre-optic network and the Nigerian arm of an international fibre-optic system.
Nitel has lost business to rival private operators, including MTN, since 2000. A previous attempt to sell the company failed after Lagos-based investment firm, Transnational, failed to comply with sale conditions, BPE said. GTB