More than a quarter of all M&A and other corporate deals in the first three months of the year came from South Africa.
Image: IOL
More than a quarter of all M&A and other corporate deals in the first three months of the year – at 30 out of 105 – stemmed from South Africa. South Africa also dominated single-country transactions, which alone accounted for 17% of all African deals during the quarter.
This is according to the Q1 2025 Stears Private Capital in Africa Report. Overall, it said mega transactions worth $75 million or more fell significantly to just 5% of transactions from 27% a year ago. This category was replaced by an increased volume of large transactions worth between $25 and $75.
Top of the logs in terms of sectors were financial services transactions, which accounted for 30% of transactions, doubling from 15% in the previous quarter.
Stears’ recently released report also found that telecoms was a key deal-making sector, with all African telecoms transactions in the first quarter of the year taking place in Southern Africa. These deals made up 10% of Southern Africa’s transactions and were concentrated in fibre infrastructure.
Notable transactions included:
- Infinite Partners and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) acquired three South African fibre companies: Evolution Tel (Evotel), Linklayer, and Net Nine-Nine (Net99), consolidating them under a new entity, Fibre Holdco.
- Meridiam SAS acquired a majority stake in Ilitha, a South African fibre network operator.
- Vumatel, a South African fibre infrastructure provider, completed its acquisition of Herotel Telecoms, a national internet service provider, by increasing its stake from 49.96% to 100%.
Southern Africa started 2025 strongly, leading regional transaction activity with 37% of total African transactions. It was followed by East Africa, West Africa and then North Africa.
In terms of regional impact, South Africa dominated Southern Africa, representing 77% of transactions. Although still the most concentrated region, other Southern African countries also contributed notably, with 23% of transactions occurring outside South Africa, the report found.
IOL BUSINESS