Regulators give Vodacom green light for Maziv stake

File photo: A branch of South African mobile communications provider Vodacom in Cape Town is shown in this picture taken on 10 November 2015. Reuters/Mike Hutchings/ File Photo

The company confirmed the development in a Sens announcement, stating that all outstanding conditions precedent, including approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), have now been met.

Maziv, owned by Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) and majority backed by Remgro, consolidates major open-access fibre assets, including Vumatel’s residential fibre infrastructure and Dark Fibre Africa’s national long-distance network.

The acquisition gives Vodacom access to one of South Africa’s largest fixed broadband footprints, allowing it to deepen its presence in the fibre market and accelerate fixed-line network expansion.

The deal was first announced in November 2021, with Vodacom proposing to purchase a 30% stake, partly through a cash injection and partly by contributing its own fibre assets to Maziv. The transaction’s value was estimated at around R13bn, later evolving as terms were renegotiated to address competition concerns.

The process faced significant regulatory resistance. The Competition Commission initially recommended that the merger be prohibited, arguing it could lessen competition by combining South Africa’s largest mobile operator with a major fibre infrastructure provider.

In 2024, the Competition Tribunal formally blocked the deal, citing concerns that the proposed public-interest benefits, such as job creation and wider fibre rollout to underserved areas, did not sufficiently outweigh potential anti-competitive effects.

Vodacom says the acquisition will support its strategy to grow fixed broadband connectivity and improve network resilience, while Maziv stands to gain scale, capital and integration with Vodacom’s existing infrastructure.