Seacom’s acquisition of EOH Network Solutions (EOH-NS) and Hymax, divisions of iOCO and part of EOH Holdings, has been approved by South Africa’s Competition Commission.
1 September 2022 has been earmarked as the first day of integrated operations under the Seacom banner.
“Following a brief and satisfactory application process, we are happy with the commission’s decision and are looking forward to the next stage of this process,” says Joe Vipond, Seacom group business development officer responsible for mergers and acquisitions.
Seacom first announced its plans to acquire EOH-NS and Hymax in April 2022. Founded in 2003 and acquired by EOH in 2010, EOH-NS sepcialises in the deployment of managed service networks and offers a wide range of cloud, security, and networking components.
The Competition Commission approved the acquisition with no conditions and agreed with the Seacom and EOH-NS view that their consolidation would benefit their employees and customers. Considering the combined market share of the merged entity, the commission concluded that there was no significant market share that could result in anti-competitive behaviour.
“What sits at the heart of this consolidation is people partnering with organisations that offer different skill sets while continuing to offer essential and quality services to new and existing customers is central to what we want to achieve in the long term,” says Vipond. “Our clients and staff are all set to benefit from a combined, comprehensive service offering and shared values that take enterprise Internet solutions in Africa to the next level.
“The next step is to finalise an organisational structure that makes the most of the acquisition, as well as helps to unlock Seacom’s ambitious growth strategy for South Africa and beyond,” he adds.
Oliver Fortuin, CEO of Seacom, says he is looking forward to what the future holds based on the acquisition. “The synergies that were identified between the two companies were just too great to ignore. SEACOM has a heritage of bringing the Internet to South and East Africa and holds a strong position in the wholesale market as the ‘provider of providers’.
“We are relatively new in the enterprise space. Still, we have made great inroads in connecting some of South Africa’s top enterprise organisations through our dedication to providing network stability and reliability.
“EOH-NS and Hymax bring additional enterprise capabilities and managed services components that expand our on-net capabilities and reach, enhancing our ability to provide customers with comprehensive enterprise-grade ICT solutions and quality connectivity. This is a winning combination that allows Seacom to expand and continue to grow our enterprise services business across the continent.”