Patrice Motsepe, Johann Rupert-linked SEACOM to acquire Africell Uganda assets

SEACOM, a leading pan-African telecommunications service provider, has announced plans to acquire Africell’s Ugandan assets. Africell is a fast-growing mobile network operator with a pan-African footprint and over 12 million subscribers.

As the owner of Africa’s most extensive ICT data infrastructure, SEACOM provides a full suite of flexible, scalable and high-quality communications and cloud solutions that enable the continent’s economic growth.

The company is privately funded and approximately 75-percent African-owned, with Johann Rupert’s investment holding company Remgro and Patrice Motsepe’s financial services group Sanlam each holding a 30- and 15-percent stake in the pan-African telecommunications service provider, respectively.

The move represents a significant step forward in its five-year strategic expansion plans, and it is consistent with the company’s commitment to providing competitive end-to-end connectivity and ICT solutions throughout the region.

The transaction, which follows SEACOM’s recent acquisition of Kenyan service provider Hirani Telecom’s metro fiber network, will broaden the company’s portfolio of critical infrastructure.

The proposed acquisition of Africell’s established infrastructure assets will enable SEACOM to expand its operations into East Africa, allowing it to provide seamless integration of its services for customers in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, while reducing reliance on third-party last-mile providers to deliver connectivity solutions.

Some of these solutions will include wireless and fiber Internet access, cloud connectivity, as well as hosting facilities such as email and security such as Distributed Denial of Service protection software.

While commenting on the proposed transaction, Tejpal Bedi, managing director and regional head of sales for SEACOM, stated that the deal’s completion will enable the group to establish itself in Uganda through proprietary facilities and resources.

“We are prioritizing widespread connectivity and exploring opportunities to collaborate with businesses seeking quality internet services,” he said.