Vuma acquires 45% stake in Herotel
Vumatel has acquired a 45% non-controlling stake in Herotel, a fixed wireless Internet service provider and a player in South Africa’s fibre-to-the-home industry.
Herotel has passed over 150,000 homes and business users across more than 400 towns and cities.
The companies did not disclose the value of the deal.
According to Vumatel, the acquisition will accelerate Herotel’s vision of bridging South Africa’s digital divide, fostering economic growth, and connecting more of the country’s secondary communities.
“Herotel will benefit from this deal by immediately being able to continue its plans for the deployment of fibre connectivity solutions in South Africa’s secondary cities and towns — effectively allowing more people throughout the country to access unlimited high-speed internet,” said Vuma chief executive officer Dietlof Mare.
“Most importantly, this investment has the future potential to unlock even greater opportunities for both Vuma and Herotel to access, connect and uplift more communities in the future, connect even more schools to unlimited fibre connectivity, and empower lives throughout the country.”
Mare said that Vuma would continue building, owning, and operating high-speed fibre-to-the-home networks using a wholesale open-access model.
“Vuma’s model has so far passed just under 1.5 million homes and deployed over 31,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure across South Africa,” Mare said.
Herotel chief financial officer Francois Wessels said that their vision is to connect as many South African communities to faster, more affordable Internet as possible.
“We’re confident that this deal will help accelerate this vision,” Wessels said.
“We believe that Vumatel is as dedicated as we are to bridging the digital divide in building world-class infrastructure that will allow more communities throughout the country access to high-speed, abundant internet access.”
CIVH chief executive officer Raymond Ndlovu said the transaction represents another significant milestone in the rollout of fibre connectivity into some of the most vulnerable and unconnected areas of South Africa.
“[This] will help narrow the digital divide and contribute to a more inclusive economy with greater access to digital opportunities,” Ndlovu said.
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