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Brymedia Advances to Acquire NITEL

By on April 21, 2011

Brymedia Consortium, the third place winner of the privatisation bid to acquire the assets of Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd NITEL and its mobile subsidiary Mtel,  has started making preparations in the likelihood that it might be called upon to revalidate its bid for NITEL by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

Informed sources told THISDAY that the Consortium has begun to issue final Terms Sheets to its investors, with a capital call to lodge funds into an escrow account.  The source added that this would enable Brymedia to be ready to re-confirm its February 16th bid price and to deal with BPE, if called upon to do so.

In its February 2010 bid, the consortium had set out a list of important technical issues that would form part of final negotiations on acquisition price, with BPE. Its bid   of seven (7) volumes,   two   were dedicated to specifying and elaborating six   immediate technical restoration projects. THISDAY gathered that Brymedia’s technical evaluation score was twice as many points as the next highest bidder.

The source also expressed the firm belief that Omen International should be given an extension until Friday 27th May.  The consortium wants BPE to do so, since New Generation was given extensions equal to two days short of two full months.

The source said that  Omen as well, should be given every opportunity to succeed, under the BPE’s steady, controlled process to make for a fair opportunity given to all without anyone feeling short changed.

Recall that Omen International, the reserve bidder invited by the federal government to revalidate its bid offer for the Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL) had asked the  BPE  for an extension to enable it pay for NITEL. And in response, the DG of the BPE,  Ms Onagoruwa recently informed newsmen that the BPE had decided to grant Omen a two weeks extension, though it was considering several options including a willing buyer, willing seller approach in its bid to sell NITEL.

Omen had written the BPE asking for an extension till after the general elections in April and the swearing in of a new administration to enable it effect payment.  The consortium said that its onshore and offshore financial partners were reluctant to commit such a huge amount of resources into Nigeria, when it was not certain of the outcome of the elections.

Source : Thisday