The preferred bidder in the 9mobile sale process, Teleology Holdings Limited, should know next month whether it will be allowed to take over 9mobile or not, top government officials told Daily Trust Tuesday night.

One of the officials, who was part of the meeting held Tuesday between the regulatory authorities - the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) - and key stakeholders in the sale of 9mobile, said “there are still many grey areas to thrash out.’’

He told Daily Trust that the meeting was inconclusive as the two regulatory authorities wanted to be fair to all the parties involved in the sale process hence the need for more time.

Another official said the meeting would be concluded in August and that Teleology should know its fate then.

He said NCC and CBN had assured on quick and amicable resolution of all the issues around the telecom company ‘s sale process.

The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, had said on Monday that the commission and CBN would meet key stakeholders to discuss the way forward in the stalled sale process of 9mobile.

Etisalat, now 9mobile, ran into problem last year when it failed to pay back in full a $1.2 billion loan facility it took from a number of banks.

The loan issue made one of its major shareholders, Emirates Telecoms Group Company of the United Arab Emirates (Etisalat Group), to pull out of the company’s shareholders.

The NCC and CBN moved in to sell the company to a competent telecom investor to prevent it from being taken over by the banks. However, Prof Danbatta said Nigerians would soon hear good news on the sale process of 9mobile as the meeting yesterday was called to resolve the issue surrounding the sale.

“The sale process of 9mobile is going on fine. We shall meet tomorrow (Tuesday) with key stakeholders in the sale process to talk the way forward. I am assuring you that Nigerians will hear good news on 9mobile very soon,” he said in an interview on Monday.

•Culled from Daily Trust

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