It's a forgotten continent but Africa holds lots of potential. There are opportunities for infrastructure investments. What's more, with the surge in commodities prices, there has been an influx of capital.

We are already seeing some dealmaking: the biggest wireless carrier in Africa, MTN Group, appears to be in talks for a merger with Reliance Communications.

Now there may be another deal. It looks like Telkom (NYSE: TKG), a South African fixed-line operator, is in play. A group of players -- Mvelaphanda Holdings, Och-Ziff Capital Management (NYSE: OZM) and other strategics - are interested in purchasing the company. Although, there is a hitch: Telkom needs to unload its wireless unit, Vodacom Group, which is a joint venture with mighty Vodafone (NYSE: VOD).

And it becomes even more complex as South Africa owns 38.9% of Telkom, which can slow things down. What's more, it will not be easy coming up with an agreeable valuation.

However, investors are optimistic. In Monday's trading, Telkom's shares were up 6.79%.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Dealmaking hits Africa originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.