As the 90-working days given Teleology Holdings to conclude the deal for take-over of 9Mobile approaches on Wednesday, the buyers are now set to pay.
At the same time, the telecommunications industry is eagerly awaiting a new dawn for the troubled firm.
Although, there have not been any formal notifications from the regulators to confirm payment of the outstanding $251 million, sources close to Teleology said the fund was ready.
But the firm, which emerged the preserved bidder, was awaiting regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The source said the amount has been kept in an escrow account, until approval was received from the authorities for 9Mobile’s take-over.
The source told The Guardian that Teleology had earlier asked for a 20-day extension to perfect the deal.
“It had requested 20 working days’ extension from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enable it perfect the process for the final payment as stated in the acquisition agreement,” the source added.
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umaru Danbatta, had said before the commission could give approval to any company that emerged the preferred bidder for 9Mobile’s takeover, it would do due diligence on the firm to determine its technical capability to run the telecommunications firm.
When contacted, Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Tony Ojobo, said stakeholders, including CBN, NCC and other industry groups would meet over the deal today.
However, President of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, confirmed through a text message that the firm had paid up the outstanding amount, adding: “Teleology has already paid for 9Mobile and awaits NCC’s approval for the licence and spectrum transfer.”
Credit: guardian.ng
