By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has approved the sale of Telkom’s mast and towers business, Swiftnet to a consortium of investors.
The consortium includes an infrastructure fund managed by private equity firm Actis and an infrastructure investment vehicle owned by Royal Bafokeng Holdings.
This was revealed in a SENS announcement on 17 December from Telkom, saying that the majority of conditions for the transaction to be completed have been finalised.
“This marks the final major regulatory requirement for the R6.75-billion transaction to a consortium led by Actis LLP, alongside Royal Bafokeng Holdings, “Telkom said.
“Icasa’s approval, which results in a change of control of Swiftnet’s licences, comes after unanimous shareholder approval secured in May 2024, and Competition Tribunal approval obtained in September 2024.”
The transaction is expected to close once all remaining administrative conditions are fulfilled.
Telkom said the sale of Swifnet’s approximately 4,000 towers and masts marked a significant step in Telkom’s transformative strategic journey to focus on core operations while realising the value in non-core assets.
“This transaction is a pivotal moment in Telkom’s implementation of our data-led strategy under OneTelkom,” said Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong.
“The sale will strengthen our balance sheet, reduce debt, and provide additional capital. This will enable us to focus our investment in next-generation technology infrastructure.”
“We continue to make progress on the alignment of our asset portfolio and our disposal of non-core properties in support of our data-led growth.”
Telkom said its results for the interim period ended September 2024 provided further validation for this strategy, showing:
- Mobile service revenue growth of 10.0%
- Fibre data revenue increase of 15.5%
- Sustained positive free cash flow of R768 million
- Mobile subscriber base exceeding 22.7 million
- Market-leading fibre connectivity rate of 49.7%
Taukobong said the strong performance of Telkom’s core business, coupled with strategic initiatives like the Swiftnet transaction, demonstrated that the company’s strategy was delivering the “promised results” to the market.
“We are creating a focused and agile Telkom that can invest in growth areas while maintaining our position as South Africa’s leading telecommunications infrastructure provider,” said Taukobong.