Proximus and Swisscom confirm possible sale of majority stake in BICS

Switzerland’s Swisscom and Belgium’s state-controlled Proximus said talks are under way to sell a majority stake, but a transaction is not guaranteed.

Reuters reports that Swisscom could sell its entire 22.4% stake in Belgacom International Carrier Services (BICS), while Proximus said separately it could reduce its 58% holding in BICS to 49%.

South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd, the largest mobile operator of Africa and the Middle East, also has a stake in BICS.

BICS global network of telecom cables and satellites carries calls, text messages and Internet traffic across the world, but its revenue fell by 3.4% to €1.3 billion 2019 along with its operating profit due to falling levels of traditional voice traffic and services.

This could be a welcome boost to Proximus’ coffers, which is promising a return to profitable growth by 2022.