This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
On August 5, 2020, Telkom Kenya announced that it would no longer pursue a merger with Airtel Kenya Networks Limited.
According to Telkom's Chief Executive Officer, Mugo Kibati, the decision was made after a thorough review of available options.
“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. This decision has been mutually agreed with Airtel Networks Kenya Limited,” said Kibati.
The company has withdrawn its earlier statement regarding the planned layoffs of over 500 employees, citing the cancellation of the merger.
“Consequently, the Notice of Redundancy issued by the Company on 31st July 2019 is withdrawn and the earlier envisaged redundancies no longer apply,” Kibati added.
With the merger plans scrapped, Telkom will focus on accelerating its digital transformation, leveraging the recent dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic to drive growth.
“The transformation dynamic also presents Telkom with a strategic advantage, to better position its infrastructure asset base and services, to support this digitisation and, in the mid to long term, bridge the consumer digital divide; connecting the unconnected by way of cutting-edge technologies such as Loon,” reads Telkom's statement.
As part of its digital transformation efforts, Telkom has launched Loon, a 4G-enabling balloon service in partnership with Alphabet, with the potential to expand its internet subscription by 4.8 million users.
