The Levy brothers on the future of Blue Label and Cell C

--:--
TCS | The Levy brothers on the future of Blue Label and Cell C

When JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms released its annual results two weeks ago, it showed its core business continuing to grow at a respectable pace. Yet investors dumped the share, worried about a lack of disclosure about Cell C’s performance.
Now, in an exclusive interview with the TechCentral Show (TCS), the company’s founders and co-CEOs, brothers Brett and Mark Levy, have spelt out exactly why they believe investors have punished the share, why they decided not to publish numbers for Cell C (this time around), and what their strategy is for the long-troubled mobile operator after the completion last year of its second recapitalisation in six years.
In the interview, Mark Levy looks back to the founding of the company more than 20 years ago, how it pivoted into cellular airtime, and its listing on the JSE.
The conversation later shifts to a detailed discussion with Brett Levy on Cell C. He answers a wide range of questions, including:
• Why did Blue Label buy Cell C in the first place?
• What went wrong after the first recap?
• What’s stop things going awry again at Cell C?
• Why is Blue Label pursuing a controlling stake in the mobile operator?
• What’s the potential upside at Cell C?
• Just how important is the mobile virtual network operator business? (Cell C recently concluded an MVNO deal with Capitec.)
The brothers also tackle the difficulty in understanding Blue Label’s results, driven by the highly complex restructuring at Cell C. They tackle these questions:
• Shouldn’t Blue Label be doing more to make its results understandable to shareholders, especially ordinary investors?
• Doesn’t buying control of Cell C expose Blue Label to even greater potential risk?
• What’s the outlook for Blue Label’s core business?
• What are the exciting growth areas in the core business, such as betting/gaming?
• Is Blue Label mulling a buyout of minorities and a delisting from the JSE?
Don’t miss the most detailed and information-packed interview the Levy brothers have given in years. If you enjoyed the interview, please consider subscribing on YouTube or your favourite podcast app.
12 Sep 2023 7AM English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

The Volvo EX30 electric car, reviewed by an owner

The Volvo EX30 is undoubtedly one of the most exciting electric cars to be launched in South Africa in 2024. The vehicle, whose price starts at R792 000, offers a combination of price, performance and luxury tweaks that has attracted considerable appeal among South African consumers interested in making the…
24 Jul 7AM 57 min

Nomvuyiso Batyi on what needs fixing in SA telecoms

South Africa’s telecommunications industry is facing a barrage of threats, from crime and vandalism to power cuts and overreach by politicians. This is the word from Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of telecommunications industry lobby group the Association for Comms & Technology (ACT) and an industry stalwart who served as a councillor…
19 Jul 3AM 1 hr 01 min

Andy Higgins on the outlook for online shopping in South Africa

Andy Higgins, founder of e-commerce solutions company Bob Group, knows more about e-commerce in South Africa than most people. Higgins founded Bidorbuy (now Bob Shop) at the height of the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, and over the past 25 years has actively participated in the industry as it…
16 Jul 4AM 35 min

VezoPay on new South African-made payment ring

A new smart payment ring has been launched in South Africa – and it’s built by South Africans for South Africans. In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod chats to VezoPay founders Jake Pinkus and Lawrence Baker about the launch of the ring – it’s…
1 Jul 7AM 40 min

Kartik Mistry on Standard Bank Connect and SA's MVNO industry

Kartik Mistry, recently appointed head of Standard Bank Connect, believes there is still strong growth ahead for South Africa’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. Standard Bank, which recently rebranded its MVNO from Standard Bank Mobile to Standard Bank Connect and shifted its network partner from Cell C to MTN…
26 Jun 8AM 25 min