Regulators Review 35% Acquisition Deal for Mawingu by African Infrastructure Investor

The COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) has officially launched an enquiry into the projected acquisition of a controlling involvement successful Kenya-based Mawingu Networks Limited  by Pambili Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II)  done a recently formed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

The transaction involves PRIF II acquiring a 35% involvement successful Mawingu, an net work supplier (ISP) that delivers affordable fixed wireless connectivity solutions to agrarian and peri-urban communities crossed Kenya. Mawingu is incorporated successful Mauritius and operates nether a planetary concern license.

PRIF II, a South Africa-based closed-end infrastructure concern fund, intends to usage the SPV solely for this acquisition. The money is focused connected investing successful equity and related instruments successful infrastructure-related sectors crossed Africa. Within the COMESA region, PRIF II and its affiliated entities person operational footprints successful respective countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Zambia.

The Commission has noted that determination are nary overlapping horizontal concern activities betwixt the acquiring radical and the people steadfast wrong the Common Market. However, a constricted vertical narration exists, arsenic Mawingu leases abstraction and interconnection services from a Kenyan information centre owned by the acquiring group. These interactions are considered minimal and are not expected to power contention successful immoderate important way.

The CCC volition measure whether the projected acquisition could substantially lessen contention oregon negatively interaction the nationalist involvement crossed the COMESA region.

In enactment with its regulatory mandate, the Commission has invited each stakeholders—competitors, suppliers, and customers—to taxable written representations oregon concerns astir the transaction nary aboriginal than 1 July 2025. Submissions tin beryllium directed to Mr. Mengistu Debessay, Principal Analyst, astatine mdebessay@comesacompetition.org.

The Commission has assured that each representations volition beryllium treated confidentially and utilized exclusively for the intent of this inquiry.