SA’s Competition Commission Thumbs Down on Vodacom & Maziv Deal

(3 Minutes Read)

 It felt that the merger would affect various markets and, in the long run, millions of South African consumers who rely increasingly on data and internet services. This follows the tribunal’s 29^th October 2024 order blocking the R14 billion transaction. The tribunal was expected to provide its reasons within 20 business days but stated that the case’s complexity made it impossible to meet the deadline.

The South African Competition Tribunal says the public’s benefits from the Vodacom and Maziv deal are temporary and do not outweigh the negative impact on competition. It felt that the merger would affect various markets and, in the long run, millions of South African consumers who rely increasingly on data and internet services. This follows the tribunal’s 29^th October 2024 order blocking the R14 billion transaction. The tribunal was expected to provide its reasons within 20 business days but stated that the case’s complexity made it impossible to meet the deadline.

The tribunal says various third parties raised concerns about the proposed transaction during the Competition Commission’s investigation. Most third parties who submitted feedback believed the merger should be blocked, as no remedies would be sufficient to resolve these concerns.

These concerns included market consolidation, horizontal and vertical competition issues, customer foreclosure, bundling, first-mover advantages, 5G-related matters, competitor elimination, information-sharing risks, and open access conditions.

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As part of the deal, Vodacom planned to acquire a 30%-40% stake in Maziv, which owns the fibre assets of Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa. The company would pay at least R6 billion in cash and contribute its own fibre assets, valued at R4 billion at the time, along with an additional cash payment based on Maziv’s valuation at closing.