CommsCo has been working behind the scenes to build up the Stellenbosch giant`s IT capabilities.

Just as everyone else is giving up on the TMT dream, those publicity-shy types down in the vineyards appear to be embracing it as never before. You don`t get more old economy than Remgro, with its broad base of tobacco, consumer and industrial interests. However, its profile has changed over the years, for example through its investment holding company subsidiary Venfin`s purchase of a stake in Vodacom in the early days of cellular telephony.

That was pretty much it, until last year, when Venfin started to increase its exposure to TMT. First came a private placing of £100 million worth of convertible paper from Dimension Data, and then the purchase of the Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) stake in Vodacom, to push its holding up to 15 percent.