The Competition Commission is sounding some serious alarms about Vodacom’s plan to snag a stake in Vumatel’s parent company. They’re basically saying it’s a bad move that’ll mess up the telecoms game.
Representing the Commission, Advocate Daniel Berger made it clear: this merger would shake up the industry. The case is set to roll from May 20 to July 19, 2024, and it’s all about Vodacom grabbing a 30% slice of Maziv, the big boss behind Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA).
If the deal gets the green light, Vodacom’s forking out a hefty R6 billion plus a bonus chunk based on Maziv’s value, along with handing over its fibre assets worth R4.2 billion. Initially, the deal’s total value was R13.2 billion, with Vodacom eyeing the option to bump its stake to 40%.
Essentially, Vodacom’s offering up its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) gig to Vumatel and its fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) and fibre-to-the-site (FTTS) gigs to DFA. But hold up, Vodacom’s long-distance network is off the table.
The kicker? If this goes through, Vodacom gets some serious say-so in Maziv’s operations, even with a minority stake.
Why the fuss? Well, the Commission’s worried about Vodacom’s already hefty influence in the mobile game, combined with DFA’s dominance in providing dark fibre to fibre and mobile network operators. And now, with Maziv in the mix, they’ll have a tight grip on the fibre scene.
Source
techpoint.africa
