Cell C finally lists on JSE, with market valuation at R9 billion

PL

Paula Luckhoff

27 November 2025 | 18:11

Pre-listing, the mobile operator had been valued at up to R12 billion by majority shareholder Blu Label.

Cell C finally lists on JSE, with market valuation at R9 billion

Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes with the JSE's Leila Fourie at company listing. Facebook/The JSE Group

Cell C Holdings listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Thursday under the ticker 'CCD'.

This followed the admission of the mobile telecoms operator to trade through The Prepaid Company (TPC), wholly owned subsidiary of former parent company, the Blu Label Unlimited Group (BLU).

RELATED: Blue Label Telecoms restructures ahead of Cell C’s JSE listing bid

The listing forms part of BLU’s broader strategic restructuring of Cell C, aimed at giving the business improved access to equity capital markets and enhancing liquidity for existing and prospective shareholders, the JSE explains.

Cell C said the event marked 'a defining milestone'in South Africa’s telecommunications landscape and opened a new chapter in the company’s turnaround journey.

The listing closed at R26.50 per share, valuing the business at approximately R9 billion with 340 million ordinary shares in issue.

Stephen Grootes asks CEO Jorge Mendes if Cell C was disappointed by the valuation, which BLU had initially estimated at R12 billion ahead of the listing.

Mendes notes that there are many things to factor in with a starting valuation.

"It was an exciting day for us, but would we have preferred a higher number? I think certainly, but given all the debt to equity conversion instruments and our pro forma consolidated view of the assets we've taken, it made it a little bit tricky for investors, saying perhaps we don't have enough of a track record in the new format for the valuation to be higher. But we're comfortable with it; I think there's only an upside from it now."

Cell C highlights that, over the past two years, it has undergone a strategic reset centred on efficiency, customer value, and digital inclusion.

Mendes expands on the company's chosen Capex-light model which leverages access to around 28,000 radio sites.

"We reckon that if you've got physical infrastructure, there's going to be some consolidation that takes place. With our Capex-light model we've got a virtual radio access network utilising the spare capacity from MTN and Vodacom in terms of our great partnerships with them. That increases our access to radio base stations from 5,500 to 28,000."

It's no secret that market consolidation will happen in future, he says, and Cell C believes the first phase of this is in fact infrastructure consolidation.

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