BRCK, a Kenyan Internet provider, has bought rival Surf to become one of the biggest public Wi-Fi networks in sub-Saharan Africa. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The acquisition includes Surf’s US-based parent Everlayer and extends BRCK’s network to more than 2 500 hotspots across the two East African countries, the Nairobi-based company said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. BRCK had 1 500 hotspots before the acquisition, according to director of commercialisation Christian Doyen.
Kenya had 42.2 million active Internet subscriptions as at September last year, according to the industry regulator.
In January, BRCK began fundraising for US$10-million in equity and a similar amount of debt, Doyen said in a text message in response to questions. The exercise will end in June and most of the money will be spent on network expansion, he said. — Reported by Eric Ombok, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP