Parks Tau, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, has welcomed the agreement reached between the merging parties and the Competition Commission in the Vodacom-Maziv merger deal.
The Competition Commission announced on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Vodacom and Maziv – owner of Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) – that could allow the deal to proceed. This comes despite earlier rulings by both the Commission and the Competition Tribunal blocking the merger over competition concerns.
“The substantial public interest commitments made by the merging parties will significantly improve access to affordable internet for underserved communities, thus enabling easier participation in economic activity, particularly for young people,” Tau said in a statement.
The Minister further welcomes the investment committed by parties.
“This commitment will ensure that South Africa participates meaningfully in the global economy through new sectors like Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and other ICT related sectors which will propel the world into the future.”
The Commission will now submit the revised terms to the Competition Appeal Court on 22 July 2025, explaining how they address earlier antitrust concerns that led to the deal’s blockage in October 2024.
The matter will proceed, unopposed, at the Competition Appeal Court where the agreement will be placed before the Court for its final consideration. The Minister thanks all parties involved for their constructive engagement throughout this process.
The revised conditions “substantially remedy the competition concerns” initially raised, the Commission said.
The agreement follows negotiations to address flaws in previous proposals that led to the deal’s initial rejection.
There were three primary competition concerns that were not adequately addressed by the proposed conditions at the time of concluding the Tribunal hearings.
