Telkom South Africa rejected an offer made by a consortium led by former CEO Sipho Maseko to acquire a majority stake in the company, while adding it will not engage in further talks about a possible deal.

The company stated the indicative proposal, which it received last month, was not in the best interest of shareholders, while adding it would not engage in further talks with the consortium because it believed in its current strategy.

Telkom received the bid last month from Maseko’s company Afrifund Investments Proprietary, which had set up a consortium comprising of international player Axian Telecom and the Government Employee Pension Fund.

Current CEO Serame Taukobong had already indicated he was against a deal with Maseko when the bid was launched, stating Telkom did not need a “knight in shining armour”.

Telkom has however also been the subject of merger and buyout proposals in recent times, with rival African operator MTN and domestic competitor Rain linked with possible deals.

Reuters reported the news to reject the consortium’s bid had sent Telkom shares down by 7 per cent.