Competition Tribunal gives Telkom Mast & Towers sale thumbs up

• On advice from the Competition Commission, the Competition Tribunal has approved Telkom’s disposal of its Tower and Masts.
• These assets were purchased by Towerco Bidco in March for R6.75 billion.
• This purchases includes 4 000 sites used by mobile network operators.

Back in March, Telkom announced that it was selling its Towers and Masts owned by Swiftnet to Towerco Bidco for R6.75 billion.

Towerco Bidco is a consortium that includes Actis and Royal Bafokeng Holdings. For the R6.75 billion, the consortium received 4 000 sites used by Telkom and other mobile networks. The purchase was subject to approval by regulators including the Competition Tribunal which on Tuesday approved the purchase. This comes after the Competition Commission recommended the Tribunal approve the purchase in August.

“This approval follows the recommendation from the South African Competition Commission and represents a significant milestone in the process,” said group chief executive officer of Telkom, Serame Taukobong.

While the purchase has been approved, it comes with the condition that Towerco Bidco address “the public interest concerns, where the purchaser has commitment to ensure continued procurement spend towards small/medium enterprises that are owned by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) for a period of five years from the merger implementation date.”

“Once the remaining suspensive conditions have been fulfilled or waived, as applicable the disposal will be fully implemented,” Taukobong said.

The group CEO says that Towerco Bidco has accepted this condition and this looks to be the last step in the disposal for Telkom.

This disposal of the Towers and Masts has proved to be hugely beneficial to Telkom. Revenue for the first quarter of its 2025 financial year grew 3.9 percent to R10.9 billion, with Swiftnet benefiting the most from the disposal of those assets.

It’s also part of a wider trend where telcos are selling off their infrastructure, releasing them from the burden of maintaining this infrastructure and leasing it instead. Last year Cell C moved away from its own towers and now leases access from MTN.

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