NTT may sell African operations

Japan’s NTT Corporation, parent company of NTT Communications, is reportedly considering the sale of its African operations and could seek around $800 million for the assets.

NTT is evaluating a sale of the African operations it acquired through the takeover of Dimension Data in 2010, three people familiar with the matter.

According to the sources one potential outcome of the process is an acquisition of NTT’s Johannesburg-based internet solutions business, a Dimension Data subsidiary, by MTN. The African mobile group is planning to expand into the enterprise internet services segment for further growth, and could use the acquisition to facilitate this expansion.

Dimension Data’s management are also considering an offer to buy back the company and re-list it publicly, the sources added. NTT acquired Johannesburg-based Dimension Data for around $2.7 billion seven years ago.

But in 2015 NTT put Dimension Data on notice over its poor performance after years of failing to generate a profit, indicating it may seek to divest the acquisition.

A sale at this stage is far from guaranteed. The report states that no decision has yet been made on a sale, cites NTT’s MEA CEO as denying that NTT is looking to sell the business and adds that representatives from the Tokyo headquarters refrained from commenting.