Huge Group in preliminary talks with third party

Telecommunications firm Huge Group has entered preliminary discussions with third parties involving the release of "certain confidential information", it said on Friday.

The information was being released in order for the companies to determine whether they should start talking formally.

Huge did not provide further information, but warned shareholders to exercise caution when dealing in its shares until it made another announcement.

I-TALK DEAL

Meanwhile, Huge Group, which listed on the AltX in August last year, hoped to know by October 31 whether its opposition to MTN's decision to follow its rights to buy the 59% stake in i-Talk Cellular was successful, the firm said earlier this week.

FD James Herbst said that the company had "received indications from a couple of other" participants in the telecommunications market that they too would oppose MTN's planned acquisition on competition grounds.

Africa's biggest cellular provider would have to get competition clearance for its proposed acquisition of the 59% of i-Talk that it did not already own.

Last week, Huge, which had already agreed to buy the same stake in i-Talk, said that it would oppose the deal, because it would stymie competition in the local telecommunications market.

By: Matthew Hill