Telkom has denied speculation, which emerged on Tuesday, that it had received a proposal to sell its mobile towers.
BusinessTech reported that the group had received a R32 billion - or $3 billion - bid from an unnamed South-East Asian company to buy "up to 1 600 Telkom towers and then build an additional 8 400 towers".
The bid, which the Web site said was contained in a document it had in its possession, also proposed setting up factories to build tower infrastructure. Telkom's mobile arm has been loss-making since its creation - as 8ta - in October 2010.
The report, which was cited by several other publications, caused Telkom's share price to move as much as 5.9% higher, before closing 2.58% up - a new 52-week high. Its stock closed 0.89% higher yesterday, at R34.15.
Yesterday afternoon, Telkom issued a brief statement to "correct" the report. "The company has not received any proposal from a South-East Asian company for the sale of its mobile towers business or an investment of $3 billion."
Telkom reiterated that it was continuing to review its operations in an effort to stabilise the business and unlock value. "The company is, therefore, engaging with various parties to consider best options for the business. We will inform the market and all our stakeholders of any decisions made at the appropriate time."
The fixed-line operator has seen its income stagnate over recent years. In the six months to September, operating revenue was boosted slightly, by 0.3%, to R16.2 billion, thanks to higher mobile and IT business services revenue that was partially offset by lower fixed-line voice revenue.
CEO Sipho Maseko said last November the group was in talks with some potential partners around options to de-risk its mobile business and trim its capital expenditure appetite. He said the outcome of these talks would be announced "at the right time".
Commentators had expressed doubt about the validity of the proposal, pointing out the lack of detail and the fact that it was double Telkom's market capitalisation.
Communications minister Yunus Carrim yesterday told ITWeb he had no knowledge of the reported bid.
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