Investec acquires stake in Vumatel
South Africa's Investec has acquired a stake in fibre service provider, Vumatel.  Details of the deal have not been released.  Vumatel's CEO, Niel Schoeman, says that with "Investec's support, Vumatel will be better positioned to accelerate its roll-out to communities across South Africa". 

On the same day that Telkom announced it is spinning off its wholesale and networks division as a new company called Openserve, one of the company’s fast-growing rivals, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) provider Vumatel, has announced that financial services provider Investec is buying a stake in the business.

Neither party has provided much detail about the deal. It’s not known what percentage stake Investec is buying, nor how much it is investing in the fledgling fibre operator.

In a statement, Investec investment banker Kobus Viljoen said: “We are very excited about our investment in Vumatel. We like the business and the experience of the management team. They have led the FTTH revolution in South Africa, setting the bar for the industry in how it should be done.”

Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman said: “This investment provides the business with the ability to connect up to 100 000 homes by 2016…”

Vumatel first began deploying fibre broadband connectivity in the upmarket Johannesburg suburb of Parkhurst in 2014. It has since expanded its open-access infrastructure to seven suburbs. — © 2015 NewsCentral Media