By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Teleology Holdings Limited has commenced the process of taking over the affairs of Nigeria’s fourth telecommunications network, 9Mobile.
Teleology was recently announced as the preferred bidder of 9Mobile by Barclays Africa, which acted as the transaction adviser of bidding exercise.
The firm was picked from the final five companies that scaled through rigorous bidding process. Others were Globacom, Alheri, Smile Telecommunications and Bharti Airtel.
After Teleology was chosen as the preferred firm to acquire 9Mobile, it was told to pay a deposit of $50 million before March 22, 2018, which the company met.
The deposit was to show Teleology’s financial capability and readiness to revive 9Mobile, but the firm is expected to pay a balance of $500 million in the next 90 days to take full possession of the telco, which is indebted to 13 banks operating in the country.
Already, Teleology has expressed its willingness to turn the fortune of 9Mobile around and make it a major force in the telecom sector in Nigeria.
A 10-point plan to aggregate its mission and how it intends to turn the 9Mobile organization around has been mapped out.
In addition, Teleology plans to increase direct employment in 9Mobile by 50 percent and also introduce 4G-capable smartphones at cheap rates.
According to a Director of Teleology, Mr Adrian Wood, “9Mobile is transiting into a new phase that will be defined by optimal value delivery: value to our employees, value to our customers, value to local communities and indeed to all stakeholders.”
“In delivering service, we will strive to ensure that 9Mobile operations deliver fulfilment to our customers, empowerment to local communities, protection to the vulnerable and excellent rewards not only to our shareholders but to all stakeholders,” the former chief executive of MTN Nigeria said further.
