Telkom South Africa Talks With South Korea’s KT About 20% Stake

Telkom South Africa Ltd., Africa’s biggest fixed-line phone company, said Korea Telecom (KT) Corp., South Korea’s largest phone and Internet operator, may acquire a 20 percent shareholding in the company.

The US$600 million deal could give Telkom, which is struggling to craft a convincing turnaround strategy, a boost in efforts to become a fully converged media company, analysts said.

A large partner may help Telkom fight increasing competition that has cut profit while the deal provides a growth opportunity for KT. Telkom aims to capture 15 percent of South Africa’s mobile-phone market in the next four years through its wireless service 8ta, which started a year ago.

Read more…