Chito Siame, head: Private Equity at Mergence Investment Managers.

Mergence Investment Managers has purchased a controlling stake in crucial digital infrastructure assets located in Waterfall City, Gauteng's residential area.

The Mergence Infrastructure & Development Equity Fund II conducted the transaction, which significantly expands Mergence's digital infrastructure platform.

The transaction, according to the company, is part of the seller's broader strategic repositioning, which involves focussing on its core property development and management businesses.

Key assets acquired:

•Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network: Mergence has secured exclusive rights to provide fibre connectivity to approximately 4,000 high-income residential units within Waterfall City, with scalable capacity to expand to more than 9,500 units in the short to medium term. The FTTH infrastructure represents the critical “last-mile” connection to end-users.

•Long-haul fibre network: The acquisition includes a 250-kilometre fibre optic backbone extending from Waterfall City to the Botswana border at Kopfontein. With significant spare duct capacity, this network is strategically positioned to enhance connectivity across key economic nodes such as Rustenburg and Brits, while also enabling high-speed access in underserved mining communities including Cullinan, Zeerust, and Groot Marico.

According to Mergence Investment Managers, strategically located between Johannesburg and Pretoria, Waterfall City is a world-class, mixed-use development spanning 2,200 hectares.

It added: “Anchored by the Mall of Africa and set to benefit from the proposed Gautrain extension, Waterfall has established itself as a premium residential and commercial hub with strong demand for integrated digital infrastructure.”

“Fibre connectivity ratios in South Africa remain relatively low at below ca 40%, whereas connectivity in Waterfall City exceeds 80%,” said Chito Siame, Head: Private Equity at Mergence Investment Managers. “This investment not only strengthens the resilience and reach of our digital infrastructure portfolio, but also meaningfully supports our goal of funding at least 30,000 fibre connections nationwide.”

Legal and financial advisors to Mergence on the transaction were Norton Rose Fulbright, PSG Capitla and Nodus Capital, respectively. The transaction was financed by Investec.