A consortium led by global sustainable infrastructure investor Actis has completed the acquisition of a 100% stake in South African telecom tower portfolio Swiftnet.

The Actis-led consortium – which includes international and local investors including the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) – a 100% black-owned broad-based South African investment holding company – now owns 70% of Swiftnet.

Royal Bafokeng Holdings owns the remaining 30% interest in Swiftnet. 

Swiftnet, which was acquired by the Actis-led consortium from Telkom for an enterprise value of about $370-million, or R6.75-billion, has more than 4 000 telecom tower sites across South Africa.

Actis says the platform will retain strong relationships with Telkom and other current anchor tenants as it aims to become a leading tower company (towerco) in the country, expanding coverage in rural areas and increasing access to the Internet, while driving the transitions from 3G and 4G technology to 5G.

The company says the transaction reinforces Actis’s position as an important investor in South African digital infrastructure, having previously experienced a successful investment in Octotel, a fibre network operator in the Western Cape, that the firm exited in 2024.

The deal also aligns with the MIC’s strategic investment focus and its commitment to diversifying its portfolio through exposure to sectors with significant structural tailwinds, including those providing enabling digital infrastructure such as Swiftnet.

“It’s terrific to have completed the acquisition of Swiftnet, which we aim to establish as the leading independent towerco in South Africa. The business benefits from great relationships with its anchor tenants and mobile network operators, which we plan to reinforce.

“It has all the ingredients to help bridge the need for tower densification and increased coverage to meet rapidly growing Internet usage and demand, while further helping to unlock the potential of the South African digital economy by providing reliable and fast mobile connectivity,” says Actis partner David Cooke.

“We believe Swiftnet has a unique portfolio of tower assets across South Africa and has the potential to drive forward the mobile market, notably by expanding coverage and increasing access to 5G technology.

“This represents another exciting investment in digital infrastructure for Actis, building on our experience in the sector, and we look forward to working with the Swiftnet team to fuel the platform’s growth as we embark on this new chapter,” adds Actis director Matthew McCollum.

“We are thrilled to partner with experienced, reputable players like Actis and Royal Bafokeng. This transaction marks a significant step forward in advancing South Africa’s digital connectivity and 5G capabilities, while contributing to the ongoing growth and modernisation of the telecommunications infrastructure in the country,” MIC acting CEO Cynthia Pongweni adds. 

Actis says it is increasing its investments into digital infrastructure globally, with this deal following up on the firm’s investments last year into Connectis Tower, an independent tower platform in the Balkans, and Epoch Digital, a new integrated data centre platform in Asia with assets in development in Taiwan, Malaysia and Korea.

The firm’s total investment experience across digital infrastructure now reaches a combined enterprise value of about $3.5-billion.