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South Africa: Vodacom’s $575 million Neotel deal wins antitrust approval

By  |  June 30, 2015

Vodacom , the African unit of Vodafone Group, was granted provisional approval by South Africa’s Competition Commission to buy Internet provider Neotel Pty Ltd. for 7 billion rand.

The deal was recommended on the condition that the Johannesburg-based mobile-phone company doesn’t cut Neotel jobs and invests 10 billion rand in the company within five years, the regulator said in an e-mailed statement after the market closed on Tuesday. Vodacom also won’t be able to use Neotel’s spectrum to offer mobile services for two years, the Competition Commission said.

“This merger will change the South African mobile network and fixed-line industry significantly,” Tembinkosi Bonakele, the regulator’s commissioner, said in the statement.

Full content: Reuters

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