In May 2025, Canadian commodities company Rektron Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to rescue the floundering telecom company AirtelTigo (Now AT Ghana).
What was inside the deal? $150 million for a 60% stake in AT Ghana. The Canadian firm also pledged $1 billion over five years for investments.
But according to new details from African think tank IMANI Ghana, Rektron’s offer just looked good on paper.
According to Rektron’s audited financials by PKF LittleJohn from August 2023 to July 2024, the company’s equity base is smaller than AT Ghana’s current liabilities (GHC 2.71 billion, ~$249 million).
In IMANI’s analysis, most of the company’s balance was mostly inventories ($201.9 million) and not free cash.
| Revenue (2024) | $2.5 billion |
| Gross Profit | $30.5 million (margin ~1.2%) |
| Equity | $120.9 million |
| Cash Reserves | $3.3 million |
In short, the company’s pledge of $1 billion would not be backed by its own resources. It would require more partners to help with external financing to help with its acquisition of AT Ghana.
AT Ghana is Drowning in Debt
AT Ghana has been in financial trouble for a while. According to a 2024 State Ownership report, the company has basically been insolvent.
In 2024, the company suffered a loss of GHS 784.75 million (~US$65m), up from GHS 288.58 million in 2023.
The report also noted that the company’s equity has been in the negative for three consecutive years.
| Loss Before Interest & Tax (2024) | GHS 784.75m (~US$65m), up from GHS 288.58m in 2023. |
| Net Loss | GHS 784.75m, accounting for 99% of the subsector’s losses. |
| Liabilities | GHS 2.71b (~US$225m). |
| Liquidity | Current ratio 0.06:1 |
| Equity | Negative for three consecutive years |
| Cashflow | Operating cashflow collapsed to 0.00:1 of revenue in 2024 |
Essentially, AT Ghana is insolvent.
Telecel To The Rescue?
In September, Telecel Ghana absorbed three million AT Ghana customers on its network due to AT Ghana’s inability to fulfil its payment obligations to the tower company ATC Ghana.
In a press conference, Minister of Communications Sam George stated that Telecel Ghana was not acquiring AT Ghana nor was the deal a merger.
The minister also announced that the government has appointed KPMG as transaction advisor with 60 days to recommend strategies to strengthen AT Ghana, assess its debt, and review the state’s shareholding in Telecel Ghana.
KPMG is likely to provide its recommendations in November.
Rektron Sidelined?
When it was announced that KPMG was appointed transaction advisor for AT Ghana, Rektron publicly stated that they were “blindsided”.
The company reaffirmed its bid to acquire a controlling stake in AT Ghana, stating that it has a “comprehensive and independently validated blueprint” to rescue the debt-strapped telecom operator.
Rektron says KPMG had independently validated the plan, underscoring its viability.
The Ministry has not publicly commented on the Rektron issue.
