Two shareholders in Cell C have been forced to write down the value in the South African mobile operator Blue Label Telecoms, the largest shareholder in Cell C, said in a trading statement that it was impairing its Cell C investments to nil for the year ended 31 May. Net1 UEPS Technologies, owning 15 percent of Cell C, issued a statement saying it believes the fair value of Cell C on 30 June (Net1’s fiscal year end) is nil.
Net1 said that it expects to record a non-cash fair value adjustment to reduce its carrying value in Cell C to zero. The decisions of Net1 and Blue Label to write down the value of their respective equity holdings do not affect Cell C’s operations, DNI’s distribution capabilities or the proposed transactions being pursued by it, said Herman Kotze, CEO of Net1.