Cell C share price revealed
Cell C has announced that its initial public offering (IPO) price has been set in a range of R29.50 to R35.50 per share ahead of its planned listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
In a pre-listing presentation published on Thursday, Cell C and its parent, Blu Label Unlimited (BLU), announced that the offer opened in the morning of 13 November and will close at midday on 21 November 2025.
Cell C and BLU subsidiary The Prepaid Company (TPC) are targeting gross proceeds of up to R6.5 billion from the sale of shares, including an overallotment of R338 million.
The offer also includes an allocation of up to 68 million shares to a new empowerment ownership structure, with approximately R2.4 billion worth of shares earmarked for the vehicle.
Cell C’s presentation stated that the proceeds would be used to settle certain interest-bearing borrowings and other debt obligations.
“Additionally, a portion of the funds will be earmarked for dividends to shareholders, reflecting BLU’s commitment to delivering value to its investors,” it said.
The IPO comprises up to 173.4 million ordinary shares, alongside an additional 9.52 million shares available through an overallotment option.
This collectively represents up to 53.8% of Cell C’s issued share capital post-listing, Cell C said in its abridged pre-listing statement on Thursday.
The Prepaid Company is conducting a private placement of shares to select investors. These include asset management companies and qualified investors.
Cell C is majority-owned by Blue Label Unlimited, which holds a 59.66% stake in the mobile operator through The Prepaid Company.
The companies have, for the first time in years, unequivocally confirmed Cell C’s current shareholding.
In addition to TPC’s stake, two BLU special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) hold shares in Cell C. SPV4 owns 12.18% and SPV5 holds 10%.
SPV4 and SPV5 are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Albanta Trading 109, which is wholly owned by Employee Believe Trust. Albanta Trading 109 also directly owns 5.5% of Cell C.
The Employee Believe Trust was established after Cell C’s first recapitalisation in 2017 as a long-term incentive scheme for staff. However, MyBroadband understand the scheme has been ended.
Nedbank has a 7.53% loan claim in Cell C, while financial technology company and Ban Zero owner Lesaka Technologies owns the remaining 5.13%.
Cleaning up Cell C’s balance sheet
Prior to Cell C’s listing, BLU embarked on yet another restructuring of the company, which involved settling the mobile operator’s long-standing debts and swapping it for equity.
Through The Prepaid Company, BLU will acquire the shares held by SPV4 and SPV5. It has also announced that it will acquire Nedbank’s loan claim and convert it to equity.
When the dust settles, The Prepaid Company will own close to 95% of Cell C. It is from this shareholding that the initial public offering is being sold.
Blue Label has had plans to list Cell C since 2016, when former Cell C CEO Jose dos Santos said the company planned to list on the JSE in the next three to four years.
Dos Santos said in January 2016 that following the company’s recapitalisation, the following three years would be used to position it strongly for a favourable listing.
A month after Dos Santos made these remarks, Blue Label co-CEO Brett Levy said that listing Cell C was a good strategy. Levy said all big operators should list due to their liquidity on the market and their profile.
He said that a restructured Cell C offers compelling growth prospects, including listing three to four years down the line, sometime in 2019 or 2020.
Blue Label acquired a 45% stake in Cell C in 2017 as part of a deal to recapitalise the company when it was buckling under the weight of huge foreign-currency loans.
However, the first recapitalisation did not improve Cell C’s financial situation enough to stabilise the company, and the planned listing did not happen.
Blue Label had to orchestrate a second recapitalisation to further reduce Cell C’s debt in an attempt to turn the company around.
Cell C reports financial improvement
In its financial statements for the year ended 31 May 2025, Blue Label reported that Cell C had assets worth R15 billion, while its liabilities were close to R16.1 billion.
This represents a substantial improvement in Cell C’s negative equity position since last year, when it stood close to R3.2 billion.
In August, Cell C announced that it reached profitability for the first time in the year ended 31 May 2025, achieved growth across key revenue lines, and improved operating margins compared with the prior year.
Blue Label Telecoms also reversed its impairment of Cell C and started recognising its share of the mobile operator’s profits and losses. However, Cell C remains technically insolvent.
Blue Label stopped recognising Cell C’s share of profits and losses in 2019 after impairing its investment in the mobile operator to nil.
The impairment came after Blue Label took significant pain following its acquisition of Cell C, including the operator reporting an R8 billion loss in the financial year ended 31 May 2019.
Blue Label explained in previous years that it would resume recognising Cell C’s share of profits only after its share of the profits equals the share of accumulated losses not recognised. This has now happened.
| Cell C financials — 31 May 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Element | 31 May 2025 | 31 May 2024 |
| Assets | R15.02 billion | R14.1 billion |
| Liabilities | R16.06 billion | R17.3 billion |
| Negative equity | -R1.04 billion | -R3.18 billion |
| Revenue | R11.1 billion | R10.7 billion |
| Before-tax profit/loss | R264.4 million | -R22.4 million |
| After-tax profit | R2.19 billion | R279.5 million |
| Blue Label’s share of profits | R1.51 billion | R176.6 million |
| Reverse 2019 impairment | (R1.61 billion) | — |
| Net Blue Label share of losses | -R98.7 million | — |
| Blue Label recognised deferred tax of R2.03 billion, boosting Cell C’s after-tax profit. | ||
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