After about 16 firms indicated interest in buying the mobile network, Teleology Holdings finally gets the job done as they have won the bidding war and are now the owners of 9Mobile. Believe, Teleology Holdings coming out as the winner in the very end isn’t something most people pictured. GLO as matter of fact, along the line appeared to be the likely winners of the bid but look where we are now, everything just took a sharp twist at the end.
The final days of the bidding war saw just Teleology Holdings and Smile Telecom competing for 9Mobile after Dangote Group Telecom unit, Bharti Airtel, Glo etc were kicked out of in the ensuing previous rounds.
Teleology Holdings is managed by Adrian Wood, the former CEO of MTN Nigeria.
It is believed that Teleology, a private equity firm with an investment portfolio of $11bn, offered more than $500 million to acquire the mobile network while Smile offered about $300 million.
As it stands now, most workers and officials of 9Mobile are happy that the company was not acquired by any Nigerian Telecom company.
A staff of 9mobile who spoke on condition of anonymity, “this news is like a double whopper burger for us. I can tell you there is an air of jubilation amongst the staff of 9mobile now. We did not want any of the existing operators to acquire 9mobile as they would end up sacking people and throwing people into the unemployment market under the guise of right sizing the business.”
Another source disclosed to THISDAY that, “this is a positive development for the Nigerian telecommunications sector and for 9mobile. This is indeed a positive signal to the International investment community that solutions can always be found to financial crisis. That was why for some of us, the ill-intentioned story which went out in the last few days about 9mobile opting for bankruptcy was just sheer bunkum to please a bidder who opted out of the process.”
He said: “The NCC took the interest of investors, subscribers, and employees of 9mobile into consideration in ensuring a seamless and transparent process. There would have been a serious problem if 9mobile had gone under, especially with the job of over 2,000 Nigerians on the line. This would also have been a disincentive for the much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We commend all participants in the process and with the emergence of Teleology, we are sure 9mobile is in safe hands.”
Meanwhile, it is expected of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to make official announcement about the new owners of 9Mobile. This of course will be done soon.
https://www.bloggernaija.com/teleology-holdings-finally-acquires-9mobile/
