Telkom South Africa said on Tuesday its US$355 million selloff of its Swiftnet tower business to infrastructure-focused private equity firm Actis has cleared its final hurdle after getting the green light from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).
ICASA’s approval enables the consortium led by Actis, alongside Royal Bafokeng Holdings, to take control of Swiftnet’s licences for around 4,000 towers and masts.
Telkom confirmed it had struck a deal to sell Swiftnet to Actis in March 2024, and its shareholders unanimously approved the deal the following May. After receiving approval from the Competition Tribunal in September, approval from ICASA was the last major hurdle to moving ahead with the deal.
Telkom said the transaction is expected to close as soon as all remaining administrative conditions are fulfilled.
“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,” said Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong in a statement. “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.”
Taukobong noted that Telkom Group’s interim results for the six months ending September 2024 showed a 10% growth in mobile service, a 15.5% increase in fibre data revenue, and a sustained positive free cash flow of R768 million.
“The strong performance of our core business, coupled with strategic initiatives like the Swiftnet transaction, demonstrates that our strategy is delivering the promised results to the market,” Taukobong said.
Rival telcos MTN South Africa and Cell C have also sold off their tower infrastructure to focus on core business operations. Vodacom is the only major mobile operator in South Africa that still owns its towers.
