CIV Holdings is in discussions to acquire Vumatel, which has built one of the largest open access fibre networks in South Africa, MyBroadband reported, citing industry sources.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg reported<\/strong><\/a> previously that Remgro was in advanced talks to buy Vumatel as part of its strategy to consolidate the country\u2019s expanding broadband infrastructure industry.<\/p>\n MyBroadband<\/a> said it has now learnt from sources that a potential acquisition of Vumatel will happen through CIV Holdings.<\/p>\n Remgro is a 51% shareholder in CIV Holdings, which in turn owns numerous telecoms players \u2013 including Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), MCT Telecommunications, and Dartcom.<\/p>\n An acquisition of Vumatel by CIV Holdings will significantly strengthen Remgro\u2019s position in the South African fibre market.<\/p>\n While news of Remgro\u2019s possible acquisition of Vumatel is not new, it has emerged that Vodacom has also shown interest in Vumatel.<\/p>\n Industry speculation suggests that Vodacom may have formed part of a deal involving CIV Holdings, but this could not be confirmed by MyBroadband\u2019s sources.<\/p>\n It is also not clear whether discussions between Vodacom and Vumatel are ongoing.<\/p>\n Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub recently said the company wants to become a bigger player in the fibre-to-the-home market.<\/p>\n As part of this strategy, Vodacom plans to increase its investment in the fixed-line arena \u2013 which includes fibre infrastructure.<\/p>\n In an interview with MyBroadband, Joosub declined to comment on if it is looking at acquiring a stake in Vumatel.<\/p>\n Joosub said he can\u2019t comment on speculation, but said Vodacom is looking at ways to grow its fibre network.<\/p>\n CIV Holdings were asked for comment on the matter, but said it does not comment on media speculation.<\/p>\n Vodacom and Vumatel stated they do not comment on market speculation, when asked about the reported deal.<\/p>\n Bloomberg previously reported<\/strong><\/a> that Remgro would look to merge Vumatel with Dark Fibre Africa to create a large fibre player locally, which could rival Telkom and Liquid Telecom.<\/p>\nVodacom interest<\/h3>\n
Combining DFA and Vumatel<\/h3>\n