RMB advises Royal Bafokeng Holdings on the proposed acquisition of Swiftnet

MEDIA RELEASE

27 MARCH 2024

RMB advises Royal Bafokeng Holdings on the proposed acquisition of Swiftnet

Royal Bafokeng Holdings (“RBH”) has entered into a transaction agreement alongside Actis LLP (“Actis”) to jointly acquire 100% of Swiftnet SOC Limited (“Swiftnet”) from Telkom SA SOC Limited (“Telkom”), with RMB acting as financial adviser to RBH on the transaction.

Swiftnet is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of mast and tower infrastructure in the South African market, with a portfolio of over 3,900 commercially productive masts and towers in the country. Their core business generates revenue from leasing space on its owned mast and tower-related infrastructure to customers, mainly mobile network operators, which enables these customers to operate wireless networks and / or deliver connectivity to their subscribers.

With an enterprise value of ZAR6.75bn, this is one of the largest tower transactions in the country to date by deal value. The deal will guarantee access and ensure seamless continuity for Telkom and other mobile operators that rely on the tower infrastructure.

The transaction represents a mutually beneficial arrangement that enables Telkom to de-gear its balance sheet and help unlock value for shareholders, while at the same time supporting the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN), through RBH, in its strategic focus on investing in infrastructure development that will create sustainable growth and prosperity.

Swiftnet has significant growth potential going forward given rapidly growing data demands, and as connectivity is increasingly considered to be a basic human right, furthering telco infrastructure is a critical element in the development of South Africa as a whole.

“The transaction marks a major milestone for RBH, as our first investment in towers. Digital connectivity plays an important role in driving growth for South Africa and has a strong, positive impact on society. The investment by RBH will help drive mobile connectivity across South Africa.” says Albertinah Kekana, CEO of RBH.

“We are pleased to have been able to advise RBH with a maiden transaction in the towers space. RMB has deep sector expertise both within the TMT and African towers space, so we were able to bring that to bear in our advisory approach. This transaction will help RBH further its goals of investing in attractive digital infrastructure in Africa and expanding its infrastructure portfolio on the continent.” says Arun Varughese (Cohead of TMT) at RMB.

 ENDS