The much-touted deal between Anil Ambani group company RCOM and South African telecom giant MTN was called off on Friday. "The two sides were unable to conclude the transaction due to certain regulatory issues," RCOM spokesperson said in statement on Friday night.
RCom, which, sources say had offered to pick up a 51 per cent stake in MTN through a complicated share-swap deal through which shareholders of the African company would pick up stake in RCom, had asked for an extension of the exclusivity talks for another three to four weeks.
At present, Reliance is in exclusive talks with MTN with respect to a potential combination of their businesses. The exclusivity talks period of 45 days started on May 26. The due diligence is currently in the final stages and is likely to be concluded anytime. Industry sources said MTN top brass, including Azmi Mikati, chief executive of the investment unit that is MTN's second-largest shareholder and Phuthuma Nhelko, chief executive of MTN are positively inclined to it.
South African major to make open offer to RCom shareholders. The deal would create a telecom colossus with 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
Anil Ambani has won Lebanon-based M1 Chief Executive Officer Azmi Mikati's approval for a possible merger of Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN Group following a meeting between the two.
This effectively means MTN will not talk to other potential bidders while discussions are on with the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company. MTN had not agreed to a similar exclusivity agreement with Bharti Airtel, with which talks broke down following differences over control of the combined entity.
The Financial Times reported that Ambani hopes to be a major shareholder in RCom and MTN after the firms combine in a reverse takeover. Ambani would pay an extra $4 to $5 billion in cash to bring his stake in MTN to his target level of 34.9 per cent, the ceiling beyond which he would be forced to make a general offer for MTN, the newspaper said in an article published in its online edition.
A deal between MTN and RCom could be announced this weekend despite threats of legal action to block the deal, the Wall Street Journal said in a report in its online edition on Thursday, quoting two unnamed people familiar with the situation. The report added that the two companies are "getting very close to announcing the deal. If there are no last-minute disagreements, the announcement may come as early as Sunday or sometime next week."
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has invited Reliance Communications for "mutual conciliation prior to arbitration" on the dispute over the latter's bid to sew up a merger deal with MTN.
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