Telecom Namibia buys network operator Leo

Namibia’s state-owned telecommunications company Telecom Namibia has bought the country’s financially-troubled second mobile network operator Leo. According to reports, Telecom Namibia will use its new acquisition to breathe new life into its struggling mobile division Switch.

Telecom Namibia chairman Joseph Iota confirmed the transaction, but the terms and value of the sale hasn’t been disclosed yet. Leo has gone through a number of owners, as then-owners Telecel Globe has been trying to sell if off since 2010, almost a year after buying Powercom, which is trading as Leo.  Telecel Globe in turn bought Leo from a consortium of Namibian companies and individuals for approximately N$600 million.

“Telecel Globe tried at one point to infuse additional cash into the business, selling a portion of the shares in Leo to Namibians, which was supposedly to partly strengthen Leo’s black economic empowerment credentials. The process took long and failed to materialise on time,” wrote the New Era.

Charlie Fripp – Acting Online editor