Ghana has hired accounting firm KPMG to advise on its investments in AT Ghana Ltd. and a unit of Telecel Group, with the view of creating a second strong operator in its wireless industry.
AT, previously known as AirtelTigo, is still grappling with losses years after the government
The Ghanaian unit of Telecel, in which the government holds a 30% stake, has also struggled to cope with the market dominance of the local unit of MTN Group Ltd. Johannesburg-based MTN has continued to dominate the market, even after the authorities designated the company as a significant market player in 2020 and directed it to implement remedies to help correct market imbalances.
"Government has appointed KPMG to act as transaction adviser to provide guidance on the future of AT with the goal of establishing a second strong operator to address the imbalance in Ghana's mobile market," George said in a speech posted on YouTube by Joy FM and verified by Bloomberg. "The transaction advisor will also assess government's shareholding in Telecel Ghana toward achieving the same goal."
In the interim the government has decided to migrate traffic from the three million AT customers to the Telecel network under a national roaming agreement.
George debunked earlier reports that the move was a merger, saying the outcome of the work of KPMG will determine the way forward. KPMG has 60 days to finish its studies and come up with recommendations.
