South Africa’s Telkom on Thursday announced that it is no longer involved in negotiations to acquire mobile operator Cell C.
Earlier this month Telkom SA revealed it was holding talks that could lead to it acquiring 100% of Cell C, which is majority owned by Oger Telecom.
"Shareholders are now advised that Telkom and Oger Telecoms [sic] have mutually agreed to terminate these discussions," the South African incumbent said on Thursday, in a stock exchange announcement.
In a separate media statement, the telco said the pair had failed to agree on price.
Buying Cell C would have enabled Telkom to establish itself in South Africa’s mobile market.
The market is currently dominated by Vodacom and MTN, with Cell C coming in third. Telkom has a mobile arm, but it is the smallest player by some margin, with a market share of just a few percent.
