Grace Ashiru
MTN South Africa has taken a neutral stance regarding Vodacom’s ongoing bid to merge with Maziv, a fibre infrastructure company. This week, the Competition Tribunal continues to hear testimonies from factual and expert witnesses about the proposed merger between Vodacom and Maziv. These proceedings follow the South African Competition Commission’s recommendation in August 2023, which advised against the proposed merger.
Explaining the reason for its decision, the competition regulator noted that the proposed deal would hinder competition in several markets.
Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) and Maziv, at the time, claimed that the Commission’s recommendation did not signify the end of the merger process. They disclosed plans to approach the tribunal to argue for the merger’s approval.
Remgro-owned CIVH established Maziv in 2022 by consolidating its fibre assets, Vumatel, and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), into a single large fibre infrastructure company.
Under the Vodacom-Maziv deal, the mobile operator seeks to acquire a 30% stake in the two-year-old infrastructure company through a combination of assets valued at approximately R4.2 billion ($231.8 million) and cash of at least R6 billion ($329.8 million), with an option to increase the stake by 10%.
Contrary to the viewpoint of the Competition Watchdog, CIVH and Vodacom assert that their merger will benefit the market by making Vodacom’s fibre assets commercially available on an open-access, transparent, and non-discriminatory basis.
Both companies emphasize that this investment will enable Maziv to expand its fibre infrastructure to an estimated one million new households in lower-income areas, create up to 10,000 new job opportunities, allocate no less than R10 billion ($594.6 million) for capital expenditure, and support the creation of small to medium enterprises through a R300 million fund.
Meanwhile, MTN views the investment in South Africa’s fibre network infrastructure positively and considers the consolidation of the fibre industry both inevitable and desirable.
Charles Molapisi, CEO of MTN South Africa, expressed that the company does not take a stance either for or against the proposed Vodacom-Maziv merger.
“Where there is market consolidation, scrutiny is required to ensure there is no substantial harm to competition. If material concerns of anti-competitive conduct arise, these should be sufficiently mitigated by conditions that are comprehensive, effective, monitorable and enforceable,” Molapisi stated.
MTN also confirmed their participation in the ongoing Competition Tribunal’s Vodacom-Maziv merger hearings. The tribunal contacted the telecom provider to request information and solicit its opinion in accordance with standard practice.
