TCS | The Levy brothers on the future of Blue Label and Cell C

When JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms released its annual results two weeks ago, it showed its core business continuing to grow at a respectable pace. Yet investors dumped the share, worried about a lack of disclosure about Cell C’s performance.<br /> Now, in an exclusive interview with the TechCentral Show (TCS), the company’s founders and co-CEOs, brothers Brett and Mark Levy, have spelt out exactly why they believe investors have punished the share, why they decided not to publish numbers for Cell C (this time around), and what their strategy is for the long-troubled mobile operator after the completion last year of its second recapitalisation in six years.<br /> In the interview, Mark Levy looks back to the founding of the company more than 20 years ago, how it pivoted into cellular airtime, and its listing on the JSE.<br /> The conversation later shifts to a detailed discussion with Brett Levy on Cell C. He answers a wide range of questions, including:<br /> • Why did Blue Label buy Cell C in the first place?<br /> • What went wrong after the first recap?<br /> • What’s stop things going awry again at Cell C?<br /> • Why is Blue Label pursuing a controlling stake in the mobile operator?<br /> • What’s the potential upside at Cell C?<br /> • Just how important is the mobile virtual network operator business? (Cell C recently concluded an MVNO deal with Capitec.)<br /> The brothers also tackle the difficulty in understanding Blue Label’s results, driven by the highly complex restructuring at Cell C. They tackle these questions:<br /> • Shouldn’t Blue Label be doing more to make its results understandable to shareholders, especially ordinary investors?<br /> • Doesn’t buying control of Cell C expose Blue Label to even greater potential risk?<br /> • What’s the outlook for Blue Label’s core business?<br /> • What are the exciting growth areas in the core business, such as betting/gaming?<br /> • Is Blue Label mulling a buyout of minorities and a delisting from the JSE?<br /> Don’t miss the most detailed and inform