Vodacom has become the latest telecoms company to be linked to a possible acquisition of Visafone. Media reports revealed the company is now competing with MTN for Nigeria’s only surviving Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator.
This renewed interest by Vodacom to play in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and Visafone is based on the exponential growth in the demand for data in the country. The company reportedly sees CDMA as best suited for data service.
Vodacom is part owner of some undersea cable infrastructure that lands in Nigeria which includes SAT-3, WACS among others as well as its strong financial standing, these suggest it will be able to face competition especially in the data space of the telecom market.
But Srinivasa Venkatappa, chief executive officer, Visafone told Nigeria Communications Week that he does not know anything about such discussion and that if it happens, the company will communicate to the public through its communication channel.
MTN has been strongly linked to the acquisition of Visafone. Reuters reported a source close to the deal said “The deal is done. We’re almost putting ink to paper”
Another source said the talks would conclude “very soon”.
Both sources did not say how much MTN would spend on the purchase and how big a stake in Visafone it would take up.
