Vodacom may buy Broadband Infraco

Vodacom is considering a bid for state-owned Internet company Broadband Infraco, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The news follows reports by BusinessDay that Broadband Infraco and Telkom were likely to merge.

The acquisition could help Vodacom make up for the cancellation of a R7-billion merger deal between it and Neotel, which was abandoned after the High Court in Pretoria ruled that Vodacom would not be able to take control of licences owned by Neotel.

Broadband Infraco’s assets were valued at R2.1 billion as of March 2014, according to the report.

“Acquiring an asset like Broadband Infraco would help achieve this and would be supportive of the government’s ambition to increase broadband access,” said Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub in emailed comments.

“The sale of Broadband Infraco to Vodacom would follow a report commissioned by President Jacob Zuma that showed South Africa should consider selling stakes in state-owned companies to private entities to improve their finances,” said Bloomberg.