Stanlib, the asset management arm of Standard Bank Group, is advancing its push into digital infrastructure with a proposed acquisition of Africa Data Centres (ADC), the data centre division of Cassava Technologies. South Africa’s Competition Commission has recommended approval of the deal, clearing a key regulatory hurdle. The transaction now awaits a final decision from the Competition Tribunal.
If approved, the deal would see the Samrand Data Centre in Johannesburg effectively return to the broader Standard Bank ecosystem. ADC had previously acquired the facility from Standard Bank before expanding it under Cassava’s ownership. While financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, regulators indicated that the acquisition is unlikely to substantially reduce competition or raise significant public interest concerns.
Institutional Capital Targets Digital Infrastructure
The move reflects growing appetite among institutional investors for data centres, which are increasingly viewed as core infrastructure assets. These facilities typically generate long-term, contract-based revenues from cloud providers, telecommunications operators and large enterprises, making them attractive to pension funds and insurers seeking stable, inflation-resilient returns.
Demand fundamentals remain strong. The expansion of cloud computing over the past decade, combined with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence workloads, has significantly increased the need for large-scale processing power and secure data storage. As a result, data centre capacity across Africa is expanding at double-digit rates, with global technology firms looking to place infrastructure closer to end users to reduce latency and improve performance.
ADC’s Continental Footprint
ADC operates a growing network of hyperscale and edge data centres across Southern, East and West Africa. The business was built on Cassava’s extensive fibre backbone, developed through Liquid Intelligent Technologies, enabling the group to integrate connectivity with hosting and cloud-enablement services.
In South Africa, ADC’s Samrand facility — strategically located between Johannesburg and Pretoria — has benefited from substantial capital upgrades in recent years to expand capacity and modernise systems. Regionally, Cassava has positioned ADC as a platform for pan-African digital infrastructure growth. In 2021, the group announced a US$500 million investment plan aimed at developing up to ten hyperscale data centres in key markets including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco and Egypt. That expansion drive was further supported in 2024 by a R2 billion financing facility from RMB to fund additional build-outs and equipment upgrades.
A Phased Investment Strategy
The proposed acquisition follows Stanlib’s earlier announcement of an initial investment in ADC just three months ago, suggesting a phased approach rather than a single-step buyout. Market analysts note that this structure is increasingly common in capital-intensive sectors such as digital infrastructure, where long-term demand visibility is strong but construction, energy and equipment costs remain elevated.
For Stanlib, the deal would deepen exposure to infrastructure-linked assets at a time when traditional portfolios are being rebalanced toward real assets with predictable cash flows. For Cassava, the transaction signals a partial monetisation of a capital-heavy business line while allowing the group to maintain strategic involvement in the broader digital services ecosystem.
Competitive Landscape and Regulatory Oversight
The Competition Commission concluded that the transaction would not materially harm competition, citing the presence of multiple local and international data centre operators in South Africa. The country continues to strengthen its position as a regional hub for cloud, enterprise hosting and connectivity services.
At the same time, regulatory scrutiny of digital infrastructure assets is increasing. Data centres are now widely regarded as critical national infrastructure, underpinning financial services, government systems, e-commerce platforms and telecommunications networks. Ownership structures and foreign investment in the sector are therefore drawing closer attention from policymakers.
Digital Backbone Becomes Mainstream Asset Class
The Tribunal’s decision, expected in the coming weeks, will be closely watched by both infrastructure investors and technology firms. Approval would underscore a broader shift in which data centres are no longer niche technology assets but central components of economic infrastructure.
For Africa’s digital economy, the transaction highlights a maturing market where global capital, regional operators and traditional financial institutions are converging to finance and own the backbone of the continent’s data-driven growth.
