Johannesburg - Airtime seller Blue Label Telecoms [JSE:BLU] has announced an agreement which will see it acquire 3G Mobile, one of Africa’s largest mobile distributors, for R1.9bn.
The acquisition is set to take place in two stages. The first comprises an initial acquisition of 47.37% by The Prepaid Company Proprietary, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Label, for R900m.
The remaining 52.63% will be concluded in a R1bn deal between Blue Label and 3G Mobile and its shareholders: Wild Rose Capital, Newshelf 1312, Malewell Investments, Investec Bank, Jonathan Beare and DBF Capital Partners.
The deal comes as Blue Label is set to finalise its 45% recapitalisation of Cell C for R6bn, expected to be implemented by August 1.
Blue Label said 3G Mobile would be used to expand into the financing and supply of mobile devices, handsets and allied products to distribute into the low cost smartphone market.
READ: Blue Label's Cell C recapitalisation reaches finalisation
"Both of these functions supplement Blue Label's strategic objectives to provide value added services to both Cell C and its own customer base.
“3G Mobile provides the ideal platform to consolidate Blue Label's low cost and certified pre-owned mobile handset divisions into a consolidated group," Blue Label said in a statement.
3G Mobile is one of Africa’s largest distributors and financiers of mobile devices and handsets to major retailers and cellular network providers.
It has distribution rights for all major tier one and tier two mobile device and handset manufacturers - including Apple, Samsung, Huawei, HiSense, ZTE and Nokia - and operates in eight African countries.