Vumatel snaps up 45% stake in Herotel
A TechCentral report notes that Herotel’s focus has mainly been on rolling out internet access in smaller towns and cities in South Africa. This acquisition will enable Herotel to amplify these efforts.
Dietlof Mare, Vumatel's chief executive officer, said, “Herotel will benefit from this deal by immediately being able to continue its plans for the deployment of fibre connectivity solutions in South Africa’s secondary cities and towns – effectively allowing more people throughout the country to access unlimited high-speed internet.
“Most importantly, this investment has the future potential to unlock even greater opportunities for both Vuma and Herotel to access, connect and uplift more communities in the future, connect even more schools to unlimited fibre connectivity, and empower lives throughout the country.”
Mare added that Vuma will continue building, owning, and operating high-speed fibre-to-the-home networks using a wholesale open-access model. The company's model has thus far passed just under 1.5 million homes and deployed over 31,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure across the country.
Francois Wessels, chief financial officer at Herotel, commented, "Herotel's vision is to connect as many South African communities to faster, more affordable internet as possible, and we’re confident that this deal will help accelerate this vision.”
“We believe that Vumatel is as dedicated as we are to bridging the digital divide in building world-class infrastructure that will allow more communities throughout the country access to high-speed, abundant internet access," Wessels added.