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Africa Merchant Capital, Lightstruck and Eos Capital partner on an open access fibre network in Namibia

CDI Global is proud to partner with Africa Merchant Capital Advisory, a CDI affiliate, and we want to congratulate them on a successful transaction. Africa Merchant Capital, Lightstruck and Eos Capital partner on developing an open access fibre network in Namibia.

CDI Global Africa, draws from multi-disciplinary professional experience including corporate finance, merchant banking, consulting, advisory and personal investing gained from global banks to Private Equity Funds, led by Cobus Visagie and Milko Skoro.

The Namibia Infrastructure Development and Investment Fund (NIDIF), an infrastructure fund with the mission to develop economic and social infrastructure assets in Namibia and managed by Eos Capital, has invested in acquiring a significant minority stake in the Namibian business of Lightstruck Holdings, a fibre infrastructure company, specialising in open access last-mile fibre networks.

The Namibia Infrastructure Development and Investment Fund (NIDIF), an infrastructure fund with the mission to develop economic and social infrastructure assets in Namibia and managed by Eos Capital, has invested in acquiring a significant minority stake in the Namibian business of Lightstruck Holdings, a fibre infrastructure company, specialising in open access last-mile fibre networks.

The investment from NIDIF combines equity and preference shares to support the build-out of the last-mile fibre infrastructure in previously overlooked towns and communities in Namibia.

Frederico Van Wyk, Eos' Chief Investment Officer, said: “This will be the first ever open access fibre network in Namibia, creating inclusion for players in the ICT sector and closing the gap in the digital divide. Finding partnerships to achieve this is essential, and we value joining the mission with Lightstruck Holdings".

Lightstruck Holdings was founded as a joint venture between Lightstruck South Africa and Africa Merchant Capital Holdings to develop, own and operate open access, high-end, last-mile fibre by deploying an infrastructure investment methodology that delivers long-term fibre optic networks for the economic and social benefit of the Namibian communities in which fibre is deployed.

Coenraad Krige, Director of Lightstruck and Managing Director of Eaglestone South Africa, said: "The Company has decided to partner with Eos Capital because we share a joint mission to develop economic and social infrastructure assets in Namibia. We install and maintain fibre as a nextgeneration digital utility service."

Cobus Visagie, Group CEO of Africa Merchant Capital, added: "We are proud to partner as a Namibian company with Eos Capital to enable home and business owners in Namibia to utilise fast-speed fibre and to offer our customers the combination of both excellent service, with a product offering that would suit most business and homeowners’ modern and growing internet requirements."

CDI Global Africa draws from multi-disciplinary professional experience including corporate finance, merchant banking, consulting, advisory and personal investing gained from global banks to Private Equity Funds. Their corporate finance team advises on private and public middle market transactions with access to a range of different investor types from private equity funds, endowments and pension funds to family offices and Development Finance Institutions.

CDI Global provides middle-market advisory with global reaching success. Our commitment is to deliver worldclass service built on long-term client relationships. The pillars on which we have built our organization are integrity, excellence, client focus, and partnerships. These core values are at the forefront of every CDI Global engagement, driving our dedication to finding the best opportunities in virtually any industry or location. Our goal is to create a lasting and positive impact through our history of successful cross-border transactions.

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