12 December 2024

The South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has appealed the Competition Tribunal’s rejection of the merger between Vodacom and Maziv, handed down on 29 October.

Parks Tau, the Minister of Trade, explained that the appeal lodged with the Competition Court of Appeal (CAC) was made out of caution in order to comply with the appeal deadlines provided for by law, while waiting for the details of the rejection to be published.

“Given that the reasons for the injunction have not yet been published, the Minister considered it prudent to formally appeal the Tribunal’s decision in order to meet the time limit for appealing the Tribunal’s order in its entirety under sections 17(1)(c), 18(1) and 61(1) of the Competition Act, as well as Rule 16 of the CAC Rules of Procedure. Once the reasons have been provided, the Minister will assess and advise accordingly,” said the ministry in a statement.

Vodacom, Remgro Ltd and Maziv have also announced their intention to also file an appeal with the Competition Court of Appeal.

During the hearings held earlier this year by the CAC, several South African players in the telecoms market opposed the merger. They feared the advent of a dominant super operator in the fibre optic market, as Maziv Proprietary Limited — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), itself wholly-owned by Remgro Ltd — wholly-owns Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) and Vumatel.

Vodacom’s collaboration with DFA and Vumatel worries players in the fibre optic segment, who fear that the mobile operator, which also has a fibre optic network, will end up with several assets.