Remgro has placed an equity valuation of R32.4-billion on Maziv, the fibre operator that owns Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa.
The equity valuation, which is 73% higher than rival Telkom’s market capitalisation on the JSE, was calculated by Remgro by subtracting Maziv’s debt of R19.5-billion from the enterprise value attached to it of R51.9-billion.
After discounts and net of some assets, Maziv parent CIVH’s equity value in Maziv is R26.1-billion, translating to equity value for Remgro, which owns 57% of CIVH, of R14.9-billion.
According to the Remgro figures, Maziv’s enterprise value rose by nearly R1-billion between June 2024 and December 2024, while the equity value climbed by a similar amount.
The improvement in the valuation comes despite widening losses at Maziv. Remgro said that in the six months to end 31 December 2025, Maziv parent CIVH’s contribution to the group’s headline earnings amounted to a loss of R141-million, down from a profit in the same period of 2023 of R6-million.
Pieter Uys, Remgro’s head of strategic investments and a member of its management board, told investors on Tuesday in a financial results presentation that Vodacom South Africa and Remgro are revisiting the terms of their planned transaction, which would see Vodacom acquiring a 30-40% co-controlling stake in Maziv.
The deal, first announced more than three years ago, has still not won regulatory approval after being rejected by the Competition Tribunal last year.
‘Different way’
Although the parties are “looking at a different way of looking at the valuation”, Vodacom’s investment, should the deal win approval at the competition appeal court later this year, will still amount to R6-billion in cash and at least R4-billion in contributed infrastructure assets, including fibre networks.
If the deal does not go through – and assuming the appeal to the competition appeal court is not successful – it will be a big setback for Remgro and Maziv, but won’t put a stop to Vumatel’s expansion plans, Uys said. Investment will slow down, however, he cautioned, especially on fibre networks in lower-income areas.
Read: Competition Tribunal defends delays in Maziv, Cell C cases
Uys said Vodacom’s investment will accelerate Maziv’s strategy, but even without the deal, “it does not stop our strategy”.
Maziv invested just shy of R1-billion in its network in the second half of last year, with much of that spending going into network upgrades and IT investments at Dark Fibre Africa, with some money being spent connecting new customers to the Vumatel network.
Uys said that as of 30 September 2024 (the end of Maziv’s interim reporting period), Vumatel had 796 167 fibre broadband subscribers, up from 730 258 last March. By 31 December 2024, that figure had risen to 827 558. Its connectivity rate – the percentage of homes passed that are connected to the network – has risen to 40%. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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