The federal government is to restart the sale of its former state telecoms company, Nitel, following a failed privatisation process, the bureau of public enterprises (BPE) said yesterday.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s number two economy pulled its latest efforts to privatise the struggling fixed-line and mobile phone firm after bidders failed to stump up cash.
BPE’s Director General, Bolanle Onagoruwa, said in June that should the reserve bidder, Omen International fail to pay, the agency would explore other options, including setting a minimum price for Nitel and offering it on a willing buyer, willing seller basis or liquidate the firm.
“The government has granted BPE approval for a negotiated sale which is now the sale strategy for Nitel,” a spokesman for the privatisation body said.
The federal government has made several efforts to sell Nitel over the past decade because of the shambolic state of its fixed-line infrastructure and high debt.
Omen International, a consortium registered in the British Virgin Islands, was invited in March to register interest in Nitel after preferred bidder, the New Generations consortium missed several payment deadlines.
Omen had offered $959m for Nitel and was asked to pay $105m bid security which it failed to do on time.
Nitel’s fixed lines have fallen to fewer than 100,000, from five times that number in 2001. Subscribers to its MTEL mobile unit have dropped to a few thousands from over 1 million.
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