EDITORIAL: End of CellSaf’s free ride
New Cell C investors will justifiably insist on everyone paying for their seat at the table
The proposed restructuring of mobile operator Cell C may be just what the beleaguered cellphone operator needs. It may also be the end of a free ride for the current minority investors through CellSaf. The pending introduction of Blue Label Telecoms as a 45% investor, together with another unnamed 15% investor, will not only relieve the company of its R23bn debt mountain. The R7.5bn recapitalisation and debt-to-equity conversion will also give SA’s third-largest mobile operator access to deep-pocketed investors who will be able to fund its transformation into a meaningful competitor on the local cellphone scene. That Blue Label is already so deeply embedded in the local and developing market cellphone industry, through its airtime distribution endeavours for all operators, means it will bring to Cell C innovative ideas, learnt from the best. It’s unfortunate that CellSaf’s free ride, on the back of the formerly eager Lebanese and Saudi investors, was not at all profitable. Then agai...
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