Telkom says it has had no formal indication from any member of the Thintana Consortium that it wants to sell its stake in South Africa`s only telecommunications utility.
Thintana consists of US-based SBC and Telekom Malaysia, each of whom owns 12% in Telkom.
Overseas media reports earlier this week said Telekom Malaysia was considering selling its Telkom stake to raise funds for its 49% purchase of Idea Cellular in India.
"We have had no formal notification by any of the Thintana Consortium that they are preparing to sell their stakes," says Andrew Weldrick, Telkom`s senior manager of media relations.
At current prices, Telekom Malaysia`s stake in Telkom is worth about $800 million (R5.2 billion).
The lock-in period for the Thintana members, when they are precluded from selling their stakes, has expired. However, they are under an obligation to let Telkom and the SA government know in advance as the latter owns more than 30% of the group.
Weldrick says that the Thintana members are, however, allowed to sell up to 1.5% of their stakes on the open market without informing either Telkom or the SA government.
In midday trade, Telkom`s shares were trading at R77.81, a loss of 109 cents, or 1.38%.
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