South African (SA) mobile operator Cell C said this Wednesday it intends to list all its ordinary shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange through a private placement of existing shares by The Prepaid Company (TPC), a unit of Blue Label Telecoms.

Together with the listing, TPC plans to offer Cell C shares it owns to select investors to raise about R7.7 billion ($445 million), including an overallotment option of about R500 million ($28.9 million) and an allocation of up to R2.4 billion ($139 million) to a Black Economic Empowerment vehicle, the operator said in a statement.

Proceeds will be used to settle debt, pay dividends and fund working capital. Cell C will not receive any proceeds from the sale, it added.

Blue Label which has been trying to dig Cell C out of debt since it bought a 45% stake in the operator in 2017, has a non-controlling stake of 49.53% in the mobile operator.

–Reuters–