Canadian multinational conglomerate Rektron Group Incorporated says it suspects a “possible sabotage” of its efforts and proven readiness to acquire majority shares in AT Ghana, following the recent government announcement that it is pursuing another option that could see AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana merge.
In June this year, Rektron Group announced its interest in acquiring 60% shares in AT Ghana, which the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George confirmed, during his Q2 2025 media engagement, saying that government, which owns 100% of AT Ghana, was engaging with Rektron and would inform the public of the outcome in due course.
So the recent announcement by Sam George that government is pursue a merger between AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana has rattled the cage of Rektron and they are now in the process of seeking redress.
In response to a questionnaire from Techfocus24, Co-Founder of Rektron Group, Sanjeev Tolia said the government of Ghana appointed KPMG as a transaction advisor to do due diligence on Rektron following its show of interest in AT Ghana.
According to him, Rektron provided all the necessary documents to KPMG and the last request from KPMG was for proof of funds, which Rektron promised to make available soon.
Complete Silence
“Unfortunately, after that there was complete silence, and instead we read of the proposed Telcel/AT transaction through the press. We believe our credibility was tested thoroughly, and nothing adverse was found.
“In fact, from my vantage point, the timing of the Telcel announcement appeared somewhat precipitous, possibly intended to sabotage our efforts. It would have been far easier to question our credibility and reject us, but it is clear they could not do that,” Sanjeev Tolia said.
Background
At a recent staff durbar with workers of AT Ghana, the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George told them that government, which also owns 30% shares in Telecel Ghana, was pursuing merger between AT and Telecel.
In defending the decision, the Minister noted that the merger is a direct response to AT’s precarious financial situation, characterised by a more than $10 million in losses within the first eight months this year alone.
“These losses are funded by taxpayers. That is money that should be building roads, water systems, and schools. We cannot keep pouring public funds into unsustainable operations,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Minister had already announced that when his government came to power in January 2025, leading tower company, ATC Ghana presented a bill of GHS1.5 billion (US$123 million) representing AT Ghana’s debt alone. Now ATC is threatening to shut AT Ghana down completely, hence the need for government to intervene.
Telecel on the other hand, have not been doing too well on the market since it acquired Vodafone shares in Ghana Telecom and relaunched the brand in 2023.
Sam George therefore outlined three areas of integration between the two companies and the degree of completion of each as follows:
- Technical migration – nearly complete, with roaming already operational. Techfocus24 gathered from very reliable sources that it is actually 95% complete.
- Human resource alignment – ensuring all 300 staff of AT are absorbed before the end of September (this month).
- Commercial restructuring – to be finalized within 120 days, establishing the framework for the merged company.
But at a recent press conference, the Minister pulled back his words and said there is no decision on a merger or acquisition yet, and that KPMG has again been appointed as a transaction advisor to study the whole situation and advise government on the way forward.
Meanwhile, several stakeholders involved in the process have all confirmed to Techfocus24 that the merger process has been underway for a while now and has gone really far just like the minister indicated in his presentation to the workers of AT Ghana.
Rektron tables $150 million
Sanjeev Tolia said Rektron has so far tabled an offer of US$150 million for the 60% equity stake in AT Ghana, adding that “Our extensive analysis and diligence confirm that this amount is more than sufficient to take AT Ghana into its next stage of growth.”
In response to the recent comment by the Minister that the company would need a US$600 million capital injection to get back on its feet, Sanjeev Tolia said “The figure of US$ 600 million that has been circulated is, in our professional view, not required upfront. Rather, such a number—if ever necessary—would only materialise in a phased manner over 3–4 years, as the business scales and network upgrades are sequenced.”
He noted that even though Rektron is an infrastructure group, the entire management team are all ex–Wall Street bankers with deep restructuring, turnaround, and capital markets experience.
According to him, Rektron is a publicly listed company, and therefore has the ability to access global capital markets and raise substantially more than US$600 million if it is justified by the business case, backed by a strong management team, and underpinned by its balance sheet and credibility
Debt overhang and turnaround approach
Sanjeev Tolia said he had personally held detailed discussions with AT Ghana’s management and, indirectly, with several of AT’s creditors, saying that the mood was one of optimism and relief at the prospect of Rektron’s entry, as it offered a credible path to a restructuring solution.
From experience, he said, creditor negotiations are best framed around the choice between zero recovery or structured recovery. With Rektron’s ability to raise fresh equity, “we can credibly propose partial repayment alongside long-term restructuring of the balance. In my experience, lenders and counterparties are pragmatic when they see recovery prospects anchored in a new equity sponsor.”
Network, billing, and 4G/5G readiness
The Rektron Co-Founder said the company is proposing a significant fresh equity injection not only to clear and restructure debt but also to fund a new billing system and modern network infrastructure.
This, he said, includes creating a buffer for working capital and allocating an aggressive marketing budget to rebrand AT Ghana as a revitalised challenger.
“Our timeline is ambitious but realistic: within 18–24 months of closing, AT Ghana would be fully prepared for a 4G launch, with a clear pathway to 5G once spectrum is allocated.”
He said Rektron offers not just capital, but also global expertise, credibility, and the flexibility to raise additional funds when justified, adding hat its approach is disciplined yet ambitious.
Dealing with government
Sanjeev Tolia said Rektron is a seasoned entity which understands the complexities in dealing with government and could sense some challenges in the manner in which the Communications Ministry has handled the matter so far.
“We are certainly interested in AT, but not desperate and have no intention of embroidering ourselves in some long-term litigation. We will go through the processes as writing a letter to the minister and the chief of staff and play away and watch game,” he stated.
