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Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by assets, has closed financing on the $673 million deal that brings Vodacom into Maziv, the fiber network operator owned by South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert’s Remgro, through Community Investment Ventures Holdings.
Vodacom, South Africa’s largest telecom operator by subscribers, will take a 30 percent stake in the newly combined fiber entity that includes Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel. Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking served as adviser to Maziv and later worked with Vodacom as co-global coordinator, joint arranger and funder.
A push to expand access
Maziv CEO Dietlof Mare said the investment gives the company room to widen access to fast internet in areas that have long gone without reliable service. “Our purpose is to change lives by connecting South Africans to fast, accessible fibre and to bridge the digital divide that limits opportunities for businesses and communities,” Mare said. “This transaction helps us move faster in opening those doors.”
The process took four years and cleared major regulatory steps along the way, including approvals from the Competition Commission in July 2025 and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa in November.
Vodacom executive Kabelo Mokoena said the partnership supports the company’s goal of improving connectivity in places where high-speed service is still out of reach. “We want more people and businesses to have access to quality infrastructure where they live and work,” he said.
Largest fiber deal on the continent
The transaction is regarded as the largest fiber deal in Africa and is expected to expand coverage in townships and rural areas. Standard Bank’s Mulalo Takaedza said the funding package reflects the bank’s commitment to supporting long-term national infrastructure.
A 2025 ICASA report shows the challenge: while 72.6 percent of South Africans access the internet through mobile devices, only 14.5 percent have fixed connections at home. Standard Bank’s head of M&A advisory, Grant Tidbury, said the deal advances efforts to close that gap. Maziv plans to connect more than 8,000 mobile base stations nationwide and already reaches over 2 million homes and 25,000 commercial buildings.
Rupert’s broader telecom strategy
Remgro, founded in the 1940s by Anton Rupert and now chaired by Johann Rupert, has grown into one of South Africa’s most influential investment groups. Its telecom holdings have become central to its portfolio.
The Maziv platform is expected to strengthen fiber rollout and support small businesses across the country. The deal ranks among the largest fiber-infrastructure investments in South Africa’s history and reinforces Maziv’s position as the country’s leading open-access network operator.
