Remgro Ltd. discussing to buy fiber provider Vumatel Pty Ltd.
- Staff Writer
- Mar 9, 2018
- 1 min read
South Africa's richest man is seeking to consolidate the country’s expanding broadband infrastructure industry.
Remgro Ltd. is discussing the possibilities of buying Vumatel Pty Ltd. The deal from Johann Rupert’s investment vehicle would give Vumatel an equity value of about 1.1 billion rand. This is according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified - as the talks are private.
Rupert aims to combine Vumatel with rival Dark Fibre Africa. Remgro owns a majority stake in Dark Fibre Africa,the people said. If the deal should fall through, Vumatel would consider selling some shares on Johannesburg’s stock exchange, they said.
The deals are being dealt very private - a spokesperson from Dark Fibre declined to comment, while a spokesperson from Remgro said that she doesn't have an immediate comment, and Vumatel could not be reached for comment.
The business talks between Vumatel and Remgro have started in October 2017 and according to the people, who wish to remain private under their comments, believe that the deals could be concluded within the next two months. They also said that the banks working on the deal include Investec Ltd. and Standard Bank Group Ltd.
Johan Rupert's net worth is $8 billion, according to the the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His Johannesburg based company - Remgro, also owns stakes in the international private hospital operator Mediclinic, and in South African spirits maker Distell Group Ltd.
Posted 9 March 2018 | Staff Writer
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