Johannesburg - Telkom has withdrawn from talks with Cell C’s parent company over a difference in pricing.
The fixed-line operator - which operates SA’s fourth mobile network and is about 40 percent owned by government, noted this in a statement on Thursday.
Cell C’s parent company had reportedly previously refused a R14 billion offer for Cell C - SA’s third-largest operator with around 20 million subscribers.
Telkom’s mobile arm, which initially launched as 8ta a few years ago, contributed to its latest set of results.
However, Telkom had been seeking ways to trim spending on the operator and was looking for a new solution after its talks with MTN to share infrastructure fell through.
In a statement, Telkom said: “Through Telkom’s engagement with Oger Telecoms in relation to Cell C, it has become clear that there is a difference between the parties on the assessment of value of the proposed transaction.
“As no agreement has been reached, Telkom and Oger Telecoms today agreed to end all discussions.”
Telkom has also withdrawn its cautionary announcement.
No monetary value has been officially stated.
IOL