Cellular19.08.2013

Cell C will be dead within 6 months: analyst

Cell C explosive

Paul Theron, CEO of Vestact Limited, argues that Cell C has decimated its own business case and will be dead within six months.

Speaking on CNBC, Theron said that Cell C is messing up the mobile market in South Africa for everyone, including themselves, with their aggressive pricing strategy.

Theron said that Cell C is “basically burning the furniture over there to stay in business,” and had to raise more money to remain afloat.

“Cell C will be dead within 6 months. Listen to me now – they are under such pressure that they basically decimated their own business chasing market share,” said Theron.

Theron added that if Alan Knott-Craig is still the CEO of Cell C in six months’ time he will be very surprised.

Knott-Craig took the reins at Cell C in April 2012, and was quick to cut prices to gain market share. To date Cell C has been moderately successful, but the company remains under pressure financially.

He recently told MyBroadband that effective regulation and asymmetric interconnect rates are vital to a vibrant telecommunications market in South Africa, and to assist smaller players like Cell C.

The Cell C CEO added that it remains possible for Cell C to gain a 25% share of South Africa’s cellular market, but only with regulatory intervention to create a more even playing field.

Cell C was asked for comment about Theron’s predictions, but the company could not provide feedback by the time of publication.

More on Cell C

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No sense in Cell C deal: Telkom Mobile MD

Cell C confirms Telkom Mobile merger talks

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