The Competition Commission has welcomed the news that the Competition Tribunal has prohibited Vodacom and Business Venture Investments, also known as “Maziv”, from merging.
The Commission said their findings revealed that the deal between the two would deprive low-income consumers of the benefits that fixed competition exerts on mobile products such as lower prices. The Tribunal issued the prohibition over the deal happening, without stating any detailed reasons or whether it agreed with the reasons given by the Commission. The Tribunal’s decision comes after a 26-day hearing between 20 May to 27 September 2024. The Tribunal took into consideration written submissions by Vodacom and Maviz, together with testimonies from witnesses such as Frogfoot Networks, divisions of Telkom SA, MTN and Rain.
In its update on the merger to shareholders, the mobile operator said this deal would have assisted Maziv in growing its fibre footprint into lower-income areas, and this would have been beneficial for South Africans. Establishing a R300 million enterprise and supplier development fund to prioritise Small Micro and Medium Enterprises development, and providing high-speed internet to over 600 adjacent schools and police stations at no cost.