Vodacom announces proposed acquisition of Neotel lapses
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
Vodacom announces that its proposed acquisition of the majority of Neotel’s assets related to its fixed line business has lapsed due to regulatory complexities and certain conditions not being fulfilled. Vodacom and Neotel have agreed that the proposed restructured transaction, announced on 8 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.
In the subsequent envisaged restructured transaction Neotel’s licences and spectrum were to be excluded from the transaction and Vodacom was looking to acquire the assets, customer base and staff of the company. The spectrum was to be offered by Neotel to all network operators through roaming arrangements.
Says 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. We will continue to look for spectrum opportunities, as well as opportunities to accelerate our fixed line business
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Vodacom announces proposed acquisition of Neotel lapses | Vodacom Group