The news
- South Africa’s Competition Commission approves Cell C’s acquisition of Comm Equipment Company (CEC) without conditions.
- CEC is to be acquired from The Prepaid Company (TPC), a Blue Label Telecoms subsidiary.
- The transaction is to be settled through an exchange of Cell C shares.
The Competition Commission has approved Cell C’s acquisition of Comm Equipment Company (CEC), clearing a significant step in the telco’s operational structuring. The approval was granted without conditions, allowing the deal to proceed in full.
CEC is currently owned by The Prepaid Company (TPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Label Telecoms, which is also the majority shareholder in Cell C. Under the agreement, CEC will be transferred to Cell C, and in exchange, Blue Label will acquire more shares in Cell C.
The acquisition will bring CEC’s functions — including marketing, billing, supply chain, credit, and collections for postpaid services — directly under Cell C’s management. This integration aims to consolidate these operations internally rather than through third-party arrangements.
The deal marks a notable moment in South Africa’s telecom sector, where infrastructure and service consolidation have been gaining momentum. In recent months, fibre operator Vumatel secured approval to acquire Herotel, and Vodacom won conditional approval for a significant stake in Maziv, the parent of Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa.
Amid Cell C’s financial challenges and competitive pressure from larger rivals like Vodacom and MTN, this deal will internalise CEC’s operations, helping Cell C to reduce costs, streamline its processes, and gain more control over customer-facing services.
For Blue Label Telecoms, the move consolidates its influence over Cell C while potentially positioning the mobile operator for further strategic initiatives, including a possible listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The transaction also highlights the regulator’s willingness to approve deals that strengthen weaker market participants without imposing conditions, contrasting with its approach to larger market-shaping transactions like Vodacom’s Maziv stake.
If implemented effectively, the acquisition could give Cell C the operational agility it needs to compete more effectively and adapt to the evolving South African telecom landscape.
