Link Africa in discussions to acquire VAST

Fibre-optic infrastructure provider Link Africa is in discussions with Naspers and Dimension Data to acquire their joint venture VAST Network, TechCentral writes, citing three people familiar with the matter. Link Africa reportedly offered ZAR450 million (USD33 million) for the Wi-Fi provider, with Investec said to be in charge of the sale process. Formerly known by its interim name WirelessCo, VAST Networks was established in 2015 via the merger of Dimension Data’s subsidiary AlwaysOn and several of MWEB’s divisions (including MWEB Business, Optinet Service and Optinet Network), which were acquired by Dimension Data via its Internet Solution (IS) unit in January 2015. VAST Networks is 51% owned by Dimension Data, while MultiChoice (itself owned by South Africa-based multinational media company Naspers) retains a 49% stake.