Telkom Kenya and Airtel have been in talks that if were successful, could have seen the two telcos merge operations in Kenya. We first heard of these talks last year but nothing substantial ever came out of that.
Fast forward to August 2020 and Telkom and Airtel have announced that they have called off the merger talks. The decision was mutual and is based on the challenges experienced in getting all the approvals required to complete the transaction. The companies did not go into the specifics at this point and that is something we will know at a future date.
“After carefully reviewing the available options, Telkom has opted to adopt an alternative strategic direction and will no longer be pursuing the proposed joint venture transaction,” the company said in a statement. “The company has simultaneously been evaluating alternative strategic options to strengthen its position and offering, within the market, as a genuine alternative for the consumer, enabling us to entrench our current brand as Kenya’s preferred data network service provider.”
Telkom Kenya says that it is taking a new direction that with the current pandemic, it has seen huge demand for data as more people and organizations find new ways of doing things and one of those involves working remotely.
“This accelerated digital transformation is particularly important within the telecommunications sector, owing to an increased demand for data and broadband. Consequently, the Notice of Redundancy issued by the Company on 31st July 2019 is withdrawn and the earlier envisaged redundancies no longer apply,” the company concluded.
With the failed merge talks, it will be interesting to see if Airtel Kenya will survive. Airtel has not had a good run and recently it was revealed that its money market service lost over 90% of its users in one year.
Also Read: Telkom Announces Availability of its Balloon-Powered Internet in Kenya
