Johannesburg - Remgro of South Africa is in talks to sell
broadband provider Dark Fibre Africa to a company owned by Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone of Japan, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Remgro, which owns 51.9 percent of the business, and
investment partner New GX Capital are seeking as much as R10 billion for
the asset, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are
private. The potential buyer is Internet Solutions, a unit of Nippon-owned I.T.
services provider Dimension Data Holdings, they said.
For Stellenbosch, South Africa-based Remgro, the cash
injection could be used to repay debt and fund future acquisitions, said one of
the people.
Remgro shares rose as much as 1.1 percent and closed 0.4
percent higher at 209.50 rand in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The company is
founded by the family of South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert, who is also
the chairman.
The acquisition of Remgro’s stake would give pan-Africa
focused Internet Solutions access to as much as 10 000 kilometers of fiber
networks, which will help the telecommunications provider extend broadband
access in South African cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Read also: Remgro expects healthy rise in earnings
Dark Fibre is South Africa’s largest fiber network
company behind Neotel, which was itself taken over by Econet Wireless
Global affiliate Liquid Telecommunications last year for R6.55 billion.
Profit rising
Neither Remgro nor Dark Fibre can comment on market
speculation, spokespeople for both companies said. Internet Solutions has a
“long-term strategic partnership” with Dark Fibre and the company “will
continue to explore opportunities” to pursue its business strategy, Mayur Soni,
a spokesman, said in emailed comments.
For the six months through December, Dark Fibre reported
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of R495 million,
and profit by that measure is forecast to top the 1 billion-rand mark for the
year, said two of the people.
The deal, which is still being negotiated, values Dark
Fibre at as much as 10 times Ebitda, said the people. The company also owns a
fiber network in Pretoria and has been expanding into more than 20 smaller
cities.
Rupert’s net worth is $7.1 billion, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Remgro’s other investments include stakes in
London-listed private health-care provider Mediclinic International and a
majority share of Distell Group, Africa’s largest wine and spirits
producer.