On February 13, Zain’s board accepted a $10.7bn offer for its African assets from India’s leading carrier Bharti, including $1.7bn in debt. The deal is expected to close within a month, the time for Bharti to close out the financing of the transaction; at first blush, this appears to be that rare transaction that works for all parties, though perhaps not as well for Bharti’s shareholders. (Please click title – Full Analysis in PDF available at www.africanext.com)

On Tuesday 16, Nigeria’s National Council on Privatization announced that a Consortium known as New Generations Telecommunications had bid $2.5bn for a 75% stake in Nigeria’s state owned carrier NITEL. The winning consortium reportedly includes Minerva Group of Dubai, Nigeria’s Gicell (a small local wireless operator) and China Unicom (Hong-Kong). With all the due caveats for the finer details of the proposed transaction, the purported bid is puzzling and outlandish enough to strain credulity for an operation we had described as a “ghost ship”.  (Please click title to read full posting).

Vodacom’s latest trading statement shows a resilient performance, in the face of what the company called a “challenging environment”. Group revenue rose 6% for the quarter ending in December 2009, but the overall picture is mixed, with stable growth and a relatively positive outlook contrasted with some weakness in its international operations. Over the past four quarters, Vodacom’s revenue has grown by less than 2%, with slower, if solid growth in the mature South African market not compensated by international operations, where revenues have declined by about 10% over the same period. A few highlights:

Nigerian state telco NITEL is back on the sales block, in another government attempt to privatize the company. This time, the bidding process attracted 14 companies who have until February 15 to submit their technical and financial offers. (Please click title to read full posting).