A source within MTN South Africa confirmed with ITWeb Africa under anonymity that the negotiations regarding the transaction were ‘definitely on’, but could not give any further details.

The source added that there is still a need for regulatory compliance.

A Bloomberg report says MTN Group has started the process of buying Visafone Communications of Nigeria, as it seeks to expand in its largest market, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Lagos-based Visafone is a wireless network provider founded in 2007 by Jim Ovia, a Nigerian businessman who also created Zenith Bank. It had 2.2 million customers as of December 2014, according to data compiled by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Johannesburg-based MTN, Africa’s biggest mobile phone company, had 59.9 million subscribers in Nigeria at the end of 2014, more than a quarter of its 223 million total across 22 countries. MTN has been exploring acquisitions as it seeks to boost revenue from data outside South Africa, where Vodacom Group has more subscribers, writes Bloomberg.

Calls to MTN Nigeria's general manager of corporate affairs, Funmilayo Omogbenigun, went unanswered.

ICT Industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan Africa, Joanita Roos has told ITWeb Africa the deal is another confirmation of the consolidation in the ICT sector.

“The MTN Group is constantly looking for value adding acquisitions and this acquisition could tie in particularly well with MTN Group’s expansion strategy,” Roos said.

“The acquisition will enable MTN to leverage Visafone’s value proposition, and expand its offerings and services to their Nigerian customers… Visafone is the only network provider with a CDMA network in Nigeria. The CDMA network is less congested and could enable MTN to offer higher quality services,” she said.

“Furthermore, it allows MTN to gain access to Visafone’s approximately 2.2 million customers that include enterprises and SMEs,” Roos concluded.