Several international players have been linked to the possible sale of locally headquartered MTN. Most, however, have denied an interest in the cellular operator.
So far, China Mobile, Vodafone, Orascom, Reliance Communications and possible Russian bidders have been rumoured to have an interest in acquiring the Middle East and Africa operator.
No additional talks have been confirmed, with China Mobile, Egypt's Orascom and the UK's Vodafone denying they are interested in MTN.
The only company MTN has confirmed it is in discussions with is India's Bharti Airtel. These discussions are "still at an early stage, exploratory in nature and may or may not lead to any transaction", the companies said earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Reuters has confirmed through a source familiar with the situation that Bharti Airtel's part-shareholder Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) is actively involved in the discussions.
"SingTel is part of the team that is looking at issues together with Sunil and Akhil," the source said, referring to Bharti's founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and joint-MD Akhil Gupta.
The source said it was premature to speculate if SingTel - Bharti's largest shareholder with over a 30% stake - would provide any form of financial support to Bharti for a bid, as the deal was evolving.
Additionally, the Asian Wall Street Journal quotes an unidentified source, who says Bharti is considering raising its offer to around R175 a share for control of MTN. Local investment analysts are eyeing R200 as a bid worth considering.
The Wall Street Journal suggests an official bid could be made this week.
Related stories:
Manyatshe not done yet
MTN soars on Bharti talks
Saudi, Oger merger approved
Motorola to improve MTN network
MTN denies India bid
MTN fends off competition
Telcos pick apart DOC guidelines
Cell C 'not a loser'
Cell C's turnaround proves profitable
Firm offer will secure Telkom
MTN: build or bust?