The Competition Commission has recommended the approval of Internet Solutions’ (IS’s) acquisition of Internet service provider MWeb.
IS said in December 2016 that it would get into the retail ISP game with its acquisition of MWeb Connect from Naspers-owned MultiChoice for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is being done through its parent company, Dimension Data.
The commission has now recommended to the Competition Tribunal that the deal be approved “subject to public interest conditions relating to employment”.
“The commission’s recommended conditions require that in the event that the merging parties proceed with any retrenchments, they must ensure that they follow the applicable Labour Relations Act processes,” it said in a statement.
“The commission found that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any market.”
The proposed acquisition follows the announcement in 2014 that IS would buy MWeb Business as well as the core assets of the MWeb ISP business and Optinet. At the same time, the parties announced a new joint venture called WirelessCo — now Vast Networks — to build and operate an open-access, carrier-grade Wi-Fi network.
“MWeb is one of South Africa’s largest consumer ISPs and this acquisition will immediately give Internet Solutions a presence in the large and rapidly growing consumer market,” said IS MD Saki Missaikos at the time the deal was announced. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
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