Portugal’s Visabeira Global has acquired 51 per cent of Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicações (CST), which was previously owned by Africatel Holding.
Visabeira Global and CST stated that the deal – whose value was not disclosed – “is the guarantee of participation [by Visabeira] in the operation of a company with a vast curriculum in the area of telecommunications, ranging from project structuring and installation to maintenance of fixed and mobile networks, including state-of-the-art networks.
“With Visabeira Global, CST is committed to contributing decisively to the country’s development, maintaining a strong commitment to São Tomé.”
CST launched in 1990, and currently has a 100 per cent market share in the fixed service and 83 per cent market share in the mobile network, having a network of 12 stores and 800 points of sale distributed throughout the islands and ensuring, through 2G and 3G networks, coverage of 93 per cent of the population.
CST also holds 74.5 per cent of STP Cabo, which is part of the ACE submarine cable consortium that links the West African coast to Europe.
With Visabeira Global’s involvement in CST, the priorities will be to boost fixed and mobile internet services, modernise the 2G/3G network, invest in 4G to improve the service and offer broadband throughout the territory and expand the fibre optic network for district capitals and areas with tourist establishments.
Other “main strategic fixes” are to make CST “the first ‘Mobile Money’ operator, occupying the existing payment and transfer services” business, investing in ‘PayTV’ services, either through the GPON network or with OTT on the 4G network, and developing new products and services, CLBrief reported.
With this deal, Visabeira Global highlights “its position as a telecommunications operator in the Portuguese-speaking world, adding its stake in CST in São Tomé e Príncipe to the stakes it holds in TV Cabo Moçambique and TV Cabo Angola.
“We are developing a global service attitude, which will be adopted by all our brands in various different markets,” said Visabeira, which has a strong presence” in Europe, the US, India and in Angola, Mozambique and Morocco in Africa.
