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Blocked Vodacom-Maziv merger — watchdog red-flags deal’s competitive harm

Blocked Vodacom-Maziv merger — watchdog red-flags deal’s competitive harm
Yeshiel Panchia
By Yeshiel Panchia
30 Mar 2025
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The deal would have ‘permanent’ anti-competitive effects, with long-term implications for pricing, innovation and access to affordable broadband, the Competition Tribunal ruled.

On 29 October 2024 the Competition Tribunal issued an order blocking Vodacom’s proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in fibre network operator Maziv.

Now, five months later, the tribunal has laid out its full reasoning: the merger would have entrenched market power and reduced competition in ways that no remedy could reliably fix.

The proposed transaction would have seen Vodacom - South Africa's largest mobile operator - acquire up to 40% of Maziv, the parent company of fibre heavyweights DFA and Vumatel. Both are key players in the wholesale fibre market and provide essential infrastructure for internet access across the country.


A chill on competition

According to the Tribunal, the deal would have “permanent” anti-competitive effects, with long-term implications for pricing, innovation and access to affordable broadband.

While Vodacom and Maziv argued the deal would accelerate fibre roll-out in low-income areas and expand 5G access, the tribunal found that most of these benefits were not merger-specific – that is, they would have happened anyway.

Vodacom is not just a customer of fibre; it’s an emerging competitor. Internal strategy documents showed that, in the absence of the merger, Vodacom intended to ramp up its fibre network investments and compete directly with Maziv.

The merger would have extinguished this threat, removing a future rival in a sector where fibre penetration remains low, and pricing remains a major barrier for millions.

Market concentration


South Africa’s fibre market is at an inflection point. High-income suburbs are already saturated, and a “second land grab” is under way in townships and lower-income areas. The tribunal’s analysis showed that in this context, keeping the market competitive – rather than consolidating it – would deliver the best outcomes for consumers.

“The merger would have replaced competition with co-operation,” the Tribunal found, highlighting vertical foreclosure risks that could limit rivals’ access to critical fibre inputs. Bundling, discriminatory pricing and information asymmetries were all flagged as probable outcomes of the deal.

No deal


Vodacom and Maziv proposed behavioural and structural remedies, including divestitures and compliance frameworks. However, the tribunal was unconvinced, citing the complexity, monitoring burden and permanent structural change the merger would bring. In short, the watchdog ruled, there was no credible remedy for the deal’s competitive harm.

Public interest commitments - including R60-billion in planned capex and promises of fibre-to-the-home in underserved areas - were similarly deemed either non-specific, pre-existing obligations, or too vague to enforce.

What this means for you


The Tribunal concluded that while some merger-specific benefits might exist - such as fibre access in ultra-low-income areas or phantom dividend schemes for employees - they were outweighed by the scale and permanence of the competitive harm.

What is at stake is not just market structure, but the future cost of connectivity for millions of South Africans. For now, the tribunal’s decision keeps the door open for more players, more infrastructure competition and a data economy shaped by rivalry, not concentration. DM

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