Costa in £35bn Telcoms Deal

Reliance calls on Ken Costa to broker £35bn MTN deal
The Times has reported that Ken Costa, has been appointed by Reliance Communications, the second largest Indian mobile company, to advise on its negotiations with MTN, Africa’s largest wireless group.

The two companies are locked in exclusive talks that could create a new colossus in emerging mobile markets with a market value of more than £35 billion. More.

Anil appoints Lazard man to lead on MTN talks
Reliance Communications has appointed a veteran London banker and one-time anti-apartheid activist to lead its team of advisers on talks with South Africa’s MTN that could create a giant Indo-African telecommunications group.

Ken Costa, chairman of international business at Lazard, will lead Reliance’s negotiations with MTN, the two companies being locked in exclusive talks that could create a company with a market value of more than $68.7 billion.

Now a well-known city banker, Costa in his youth was the leader of the students’ council at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, then a centre for anti-apartheid activism, and spoke about his passion for justice in a recent interview.

The current chairman of MTN is 56-year-old Cyril Ramaphosa, a veteran of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle who resigned key positions in the government after losing the contest to be South African president to Thabo Mbeki in 1997.

Ramaphosa continues to be a member of the executive committee of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. More.