South Africa-based digital infrastructure company, Host Africa is seeking regulatory approval to acquire Nigeria’s GO54, formerly known as WhoGoHost at an undisclosed amount.
The transaction entails the acquisition of intellectual property, goodwill, equipment, furniture, fittings, contracts, domains, and other assets essential to GO54 Limited’s business operations.
These assets will enable Host Africa to deliver webhosting, cloud services, and domain registration solutions across Nigeria.
Details of the transaction
The transaction, formalized through a Sale of Asset Agreement, involves the transfer of all identified sale assets from GO54 Limited to Host Africa.
- GO54 Limited, a Nigerian-incorporated entity, has established itself within the webhosting and domain registration industry.
- To facilitate its operation in Nigeria, Host Africa is acquiring GO54 through a Nigerian subsidiary registered in October 2024, Host Africa Nigeria Limited, according to data obtained from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
- The transaction represents a strategic move for Host Africa, marking its entry into the growing Nigerian market for digital services.
Rational for the transaction
In the regulatory filing seen by Nairametrics, Host Africa noted that GO54 Limited’s consistent revenue growth, coupled with its diversified customer base and expanding product portfolio, offers predictable cash flows and sustainable growth potential.
The Acquirer is also looking to utilize the Sale Assets into creating an affordable and accessible one-stop shop for the digital needs of Nigerians across retail, enterprise, and corporate verticals.
The deal has also received the backing of the Federal Competitive and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), which describes it as a positive development for Nigerian consumers.
“The Acquirers investment is beneficial as it will harness and develop Nigerian technology talent whilst accelerating online adoption and digital access for Nigerians.
“The acquisition marks the Acquirers strategic entry into the Webhosting and Domain Registration service industry in Nigeria and aligns with its overall consumer strategy in Nigeria,” the FCCPC stated.
From WhoGoHost to Host Africa
The planned acquisition of GO54 comes about 10 months after the company rebranded from WhoGoHost, the name by which it was known since 2006 when it was founded by Opeyemi Awoyemi.
- As of March 2024, when it announced the rebranding, the company prides itself as the largest web hosting company in Nigeria with over 70,000 hosting accounts and more than 130,000 active domains.
- Explaining the new brand name, the company said GO54 leverages the ‘GO’ in its former name Whogohost, the driving force as businesses go online, with ‘54’ highlighting its near-term ambitions to expand across the continent.
“We are not just changing our name. We are enabling online presence in an easy, simple, and affordable way and redefining what it means to succeed online,” said the company’s CEO, Toluwani Adejuyigbe, in March.
- Meanwhile, before now, GO54 had also made some strategic acquisitions to expand its business in Nigeria.
- The company made its first acquisition with iHost Africa in 2016. It was also reported that the company acquired TheExpertHost, another Nigerian hosting company founded in May 2008 by Dennis Isong in the same year (2016).
- In September 2023, it also acquired Sendchamp.
What you should know
Inspired by Cape Town’s beauty in South Africa Host Africa’s Founder, Michael Osterloh, brought his expertise from Germany to help Africans get online.
Previously, Michael Osterloh was Managing Director of “Deutsche Börse Cloud Exchange AG”—one of the largest providers of virtual servers in Germany. Marcel Chorengel not only founded it but also developed the first fully automated web hosting software—Confixx.
Host Africa is now an established Hosting business leading in Cloud Server solutions in South Africa.
The company has also had a number of acquisitions across Africa as it seeks to spread its tentacles in the continent and GO54 is not the first Nigerian company to be acquired by Host Africa.
- On 31 August 2021, Host Africa acquired DomainKing, one of the largest Nigerian shared web hosting companies.
- On 21 June 2024, it also acquired Nigerian hosting company Naijawebhost.
- On 1 December 2023, Host Africa (Pty) Ltd acquired Kenyan hosting company Sasahost.
