Cellular network operator MTN has ended talks relating to some of its foreign assets without resolving speculation about the nature of the negotiations.
The group first issued a cautionary in November saying simply that it was "involved in discussions in relation to a potential transaction involving some of the company`s non-South African assets". The notice was renewed in February with no further details.
The withdrawal notice, which appeared on the JSE news service SENS yesterday, informs shareholders only that the talks were terminated.
MTN corporate communications executive Yvonne Muthien was in "back-to-back" meetings this morning and could not be reached for comment.
However, an analyst says he thought at the time the cautionary was issued that the talks may have involved another party wanting to buy a stake in MTN`s Nigerian operations.
"I don`t have anything to back it up - it`s just a thought," he says. "But if it sold a stake in the Nigerian operations it could help to relieve some of the debt burden."
The analyst says he doubts an acquisition was in the offing, as the notice referred to existing operations. He also believes the group is more interested in bedding down past acquisitions than in making new ones.
MTN Nigeria, which recently passed the one million-subscriber mark, has MTN`s largest subscriber base outside SA.
The MTN share price was unchanged at R13.20 on the JSE this morning.
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