Angola's Unitel Privatisation Stalls as Legal Dispute Clouds Sale Process
The privatisation of Angola's largest telecoms operator Unitel has entered legal limbo, stalling what would be one of the country's most significant state asset sales. The dispute is weighing on investor confidence in the transaction and Angola's broader telecom sector.
Unitel: buying shares in a court case
Angola is selling 15 per cent of Unitel, its biggest telecoms company, and the offer closes July 24. The problem is that half the company was seized by presidential decree in 2022 — and the former owners are still fighting that seizure in court.
The court hasn't ruled on whether the seizure was actually legal. It only rejected an emergency request to pause it. The main cases are live.
If those cases succeed, the state could be forced to return the shares, pay compensation, or unpick the whole transaction. A new investor buying in now is technically buying into that uncertainty.
For a continent where getting investors to take a chance on state asset sales is already hard, this is exactly the wrong signal to send.
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- Angola: Angola - Unitel Sale in Legal Limbo · allafrica.com · T3