Shares in JSE-listed Telkom dropped to a new eight-year low on Friday, after the company officially confirmed it was no longer in talks with Korean KT Corporation.
The group on Friday posted a statement saying it was withdrawing a cautionary announcement relating to a potential strategic venture with KT Corporation. The proposed deal was binned by Cabinet on 1 June.
After the news, Telkom's shares hit an intra-day low of R17.16, before recovering slightly to close at R17.97, a 1.26% decline on its opening price of R18.13. The drop takes Telkom stock to a new eight-year low.
On 1 June, its stock started falling just after 9am and ended the day 8.34% down - a 191c decline - at R21, a new eight-year low at the time. After it reported its first net loss since listing, in the middle of last month, its share closed at R19.11.
The proposed deal between Telkom and KT would have seen Telkom issue 20% more shares to gain about R3.3 billion - around a 10th of its annual revenue. It and the Department of Communications are set to meet to discuss more options, and communications minister Dina Pule has until about the end of next month to report back to Cabinet on proposed ways forward.
Telkom says shareholders no longer have to be cautious when trading shares and “further announcements will be made as required”.
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