The Competition Appeals Court is set to hear representations in July from Vodacom and Remgro over the blocked multibillion-rand Maziv merger deal.
This, after the Competition Tribunal in October last year prohibited the R14 billion proposed merger deal.
The tribunal order came after the Competition Commission, in August 2023, recommended the merger be prohibited.
According to the competition watchdog, it found the proposed deal would likely prevent or lessen competition in several markets, and that the conditions offered by the merging parties did not fully address the resultant harm to competition.
Smaller internet service providers were also concerned the proposed merger would elbow them out of the market.
The tribunal is still to provide reasons for its decision to block the merger, which was supposed to shake up South Africa’s fibre market.
In a statement on Friday, Vodacom said on 6 March, the Competition Appeal Court informed the transaction parties (Vodacom and Remgro) that the hearing dates in respect of the transaction have been reserved for 22 to 24 July.
“The transaction parties still await the reasons of the Competition Tribunal for prohibiting the merger, which is necessary for the appeal process to progress as planned. As indicated in the announcement dated 14 February, the transaction parties extended the transaction long stop date to 14 March.
“The transaction parties have subsequently agreed to further extend the transaction long stop date to 30 April 2025,” said Vodacom.
Vodacom and Maziv, which is controlled by Remgro subsidiary Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), have been anticipating a favourable decision from the Competition Tribunal.
Maziv is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIVH, which has two main operating fibre subsidiaries, Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel.
Under the deal, Vodacom was looking to acquire a 30% stake in the newly-created Maziv, with an option to increase the stake by 10%.
It said the proposed transaction would significantly propel South Africa’s social development and would be highly-beneficial for the country, the economy and lower income households on a number of fronts.
Maziv was committing to invest capex of at least R10 billion over a five-year period, including the commitment to pass at least one million new homes in lower income areas, such as Alexandra, with fibre infrastructure over a five-year period.
The companies also made a commitment to create up to 10 000 new jobs, while at the same time providing job security and enhanced benefits for current employees potentially impacted by the transaction.
They were also prioritising SMME development by establishing a new enterprise and supplier development fund of R300 million over three years, focused on increasing the level of localisation across the value chain.
Vodacom also committed to invest in excess of R14 billion into South Africa, though this transaction would come at a time when attracting capital investment is particularly challenging.
Last year, trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau indicated he was also appealing the tribunal’s decision to prohibit the transaction.
Tau stated he is awaiting the forthcoming publication of detailed reasons of the Competition Tribunal’s decision to prohibit the merger, and once the full reasoning is available, the ministry will assess and advise on the next steps, in line with the Competition Act 89 of 1998, as amended.
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