10 December 2021

Vodacom Group is buying a controlling interest in some assets owned by Community Investment Ventures Holdings, giving it a 30% interest in a new jointly owned company.

The operator said the deal implies a potential R13.2bn investment and will see it subscribe for new shares in the joint venture company InfraCo that will house the assets for R6bn.

These assets include Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa.

Vodacom will also contribute its fibre-to-the-home and business networks as well as its business-to-business transmission access fibre network infrastructure worth R4.2bn in return for InfraCo shares.

In addition, the operator will also buy more shares in InfraCo via a secondary offering worth an estimated R3bn.

Vodacom said it also has an option to buy an extra 10% in InfraCo within 180 days of the deal completing, taking its interest to 40%.

Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group’s chief executive officer, explained that “the agreement with CIVH aligns with Vodacom Group’s strategy to build high quality and resilient fixed and mobile networks with and through selected strategic partnerships across the African continent. It also supports Vodacom’s focused plan to help the government rebuild the economy after Covid.

Earlier this year, Vodacom Group launched the Africa.connected campaign across its eight markets on the continent. Its aim is to capitalise on the company’s existing investments in bridging the digital divide and ensuring that more people in Africa have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a digital society. Vodacom Group’s acquisition of a stake in CIVH is part of this objective.

According to Raymond Ndlovu, CIVH’s CEO, said the new telecom infrastructure operator will boost the two partners’ nationwide fibre optic deployment program and “help bridge the digital divide by providing affordable access to connectivity to some of the most vulnerable parts of society.