Bidding war started since last year and when it was reduced to just 5, rumors spread that Globacom will eventually come out as winners but the whole scenario took another twist towards the very end.
In the final days, it reduced to just 3 bidders, Dangote Group Telecom unit, Bharti Airtel and others were kicked out in the fourth round, Glo was surprisingly eliminated in the third round but Smile Telecom Holding emerged as runners up after Teleology Holding won the bid to acquire 9mobile.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel were afraid of the big debts hanging in the neck of 9Mobile so they feared that whoever acquires the network may be trapped by that so they pulled out.
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.
It's reported that a staff of 9mobile who spoke on condition of anonymity,
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel were afraid of the big debts hanging in the neck of 9Mobile so they feared that whoever acquires the network may be trapped by that so they pulled out.
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.
It's reported that 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.Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is yet to make official announcement in about the new owners of 9Mobile. We hope that will happen any time soon.
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