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Telkom shares rose sharply on Tuesday after the company announced that it would spin off its masts and towers businesses in separate listings on the JSE.
The company, which is the country's third-largest telecommunications provider, said the listing of Swiftnet, which is managed by Gyro, will unlock value for the company. Swiftnet operates 6 225 masts and towers and is South Africa’s largest independently run tower portfolio.
"A separate listing of Swiftnet will affirm the valuation of the masts and towers business and its contribution to the overall valuation of the Telkom business, thereby unlocking further value for Telkom," Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko said.
Telkom stocks peaked at R43.99 shortly before 15:00, after opening at R37.45. They were trading 13% up at R42.60 at 16:24 on Tuesday.
The Telkom board is expected to make a final decision of the separate listing before the end of the financial year and the company believes that the listing of Swiftnet will affirm the valuation of the Masts & Towers business and its contribution to the overall valuation of the Telkom business.
The announcement comes a few days after IHS Towers, which is 29% owned by MTN, said it was looking to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The listing is expected to be the biggest by an African company, according to research by Bloomberg.
IHS was established in 2001, and describes itself as one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world.
