South Africa's third-largest mobile operator Telkom said on Wednesday that Africa's largest mobile operator MTN has called off takeover talks due to lack of exclusivity.
MTN had announced the discussions about a potential acquisition in July, while Telkom had also received a proposal from data-focused mobile operator Rain.
"Discussions were at an early stage and had not progressed due to due diligence nor had a binding offer been received by the Telkom board of directors," Telkom said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The Telkom board has a legal and fiduciary duty to consider all bona fide offers".
MTN said in a statement that after "extensive engagements and deliberations between the parties, shareholders are advised that the discussions regarding the proposed transaction have terminated, as the parties were unable to reach agreement to their mutual satisfaction on the process going forward."
Telkom's share had crashed 15.5% to R37.82 in early trade, giving back about half of the gains made since the talks with MTN were first announced.
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Rain maintains a merger with Telkom could create a "5G powerhouse" and also mooted other benefits, including in terms of infrastructure, while also avoiding the creation of a mobile "duopoly" in the form of Vodacom and MTN.