Aug 2015 Financial News

CWC to divest TSTT stake by year end

Aug 27, 2015

Investors are being sought for TSTT as plans are on target for completion of divestment of Cable and Wireless Communications’ (CWC) stake in the company by year end. Chris Seecheran, CEO of the Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT), told the T&T Guardian yesterday that there were no longer any CWC directors on TSTT’s board. He said this meant the two companies were now separate from an operational stand point.

Seecheran said one of the conditions which TATT had requested before approving the merger of CWC and Columbus Communications late last year was frequent updates on the divestment process. “CWC and NEL (National Enterprises Ltd), on behalf of Government, appointed financial advisors who are working with them in order to put together—I am using the word prospectus—in order to attract a suitable investor into TSTT,” he said.

In the interim, he said: “TSTT is involved in producing revised plans/forecasts. Some sort of a virtual library as it were, has been created where potential investors can go in and look at documents, look at forecasts.

“The current schedule is that by December thereabouts they should have received proposals which hopefully could then be reviewed. Early into the new year we will see a way forward in terms of identifying a potential investor.” Seecheran said the process had been ongoing “behind the scenes” and TATT had given CWC a time frame of one year to complete the divestment with a possible extension of up to six months.

“So far they are within the processed timeline. The process has started and it is going well from what we understand. As you know we are not part of the process. We wanted to be informed. Seecharan said TATT would make an announcement when the divestment process was completed.

In an immediate response, the Communications Workers Union (CWU), the union that represents TSTT workers, said it would make a statement on the matter next week. CWU president Joseph Remy said the union wanted an opportunity to make recommendations on the investment of the 49 per cent shares.

As though highly critical of TATT’s handling of the CWC/Columbus merger, Remy said he was pleased with TATT’s approach to TSTT.

In late March, TATT gave conditional approval of the merger, saying it would depend on CWC’s readiness to suspend its shareholder rights with regard to its 49 per cent stake in majority state-owned TSTT, among other conditions. At the time, TSTT, this country’s largest telecommunications service provider, was jointly owned by NEL on behalf of the Government (51 per cent), and and Cable & Wireless (49 per cent).

TATT had said then that an "in-depth economic and legal analysis” of the implications of the transaction on the local telecom market "found that substantial lessening of competition or adverse effects may reasonably be expected to result from the proposed acquisition of Columbus by CWC.” Plans for the CWC/Columbus were first announced on November 6 last year and on March 31 the two companies announced its finalisation.

Source:
Nadaleen Singh
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday August 27, 2015

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2015-08-27/cwc-divest-tstt-stake-year-end