ICASA awaits MTN, Bharti details

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is waiting for MTN and Bharti Airtel to come to an agreement before it decides whether to call public hearings on the matter.

ICASA spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela says the regulator has not decided if it will intervene in the MTN, Bharti deal until it has more information about how the transaction will look. The protracted discussions between the companies are expected to be completed in less than two weeks.

Sekgoela says the regulator will hold public hearings if it feels “there is a need” and until it has all the facts, it can't say whether it will make the process available or not.

The regulator seems to be holding the public hearings door open, after the fiasco that threatened the Vodacom-Vodafone transaction earlier this year. ICASA initially gave the Vodacom deal the go-ahead; however, it quickly changed tack under pressure from trade unions.

At the 11th hour, the regulator pulled its approval for the deal and bid for the right to hold public hearings. The application was denied and the Vodacom sale was passed and the company listed.

The regulator has been particularly quiet about the MTN-Bharti deal since it was first announced in May. MTN is keen to complete the deal as soon as possible, and set the end of this month as a final deadline for an agreement.

With the deadline looming, government has become vocal on the matter, with Cabinet demanding the right to approve the deal and minister of communications Siphiwe Nyanda reminding the public that MTN is a “South African business”.

The department has also made it particularly clear that it is on the fence about the deal. In a statement at the beginning of September, the department said: “We wish to put it on record that the department and/or the government have not taken a stance on the issue as discussions between the parties are ongoing. It is, therefore, incorrect that government has offered its support for the proposed tie-up at this stage, as reported in the media.”

MTN has a large government shareholding in the form of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which owned 13.5% of MTN at the end of the 2008 financial year. The PIC is wholly-owned by government, with the minister of finance as its shareholder representative.

The PIC has expressed conditional support for the deal; however, it has also indicated it would prefer to see Bharti sweeten the offer, before it pledged to it entirely.

PIC CEO Brian Molefe has indicated he appreciates MTN's need to diversify its revenue stream, but the details still have to be nailed down. He added that support hinged on price and the extent of influence MTN would have in the merged entity.

Sekgoela says ICASA is in Parliament today and the regulator's stance on the MTN-Bharti deal may be on the agenda.

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