Vodacom has successfully acquired a 35% stake in Kenya’s Safaricom from its parent firm Vodafone Group for ZAR35 billion approximately USD2.6 billion.
The transfer was executed by the group’s subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings, which retains a 5% indirect stake in Safaricom. After it obtained the requisite regulatory approvals in both Kenya and South Africa, Vodacom’s shareholders gave the deal the green light.
In addition, Vodacom has issued 223 million new ordinary shares to Vodafone, increasing the parent firm’s stake in its subsidiary from 65% to almost 70%. The deal would allow the operator’s shareholders to access a strong performing business in East Africa in a high growth market, meanwhile, the deal was the largest in the firm’s history.
Vodacom Business, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, is a leading pan-African corporate connectivity and telecommunications provider that has brought affordable and reliable connectivity to Africa since 1992. In that time, we have built strong relationships in the sectors that are driving the continent’s economic growth; helping them stay connected across Africa, and to the rest of the world.
Our experience in African telecommunications spans over two decades and today, we connect over 1200 of the continent’s largest and leading corporations in over 40 countries. We work closely with multinationals in all sectors of African commerce – from banking and finance, oil and gas, mining and construction right through to retail and distribution , as well as tourism.
