Vodafone transfers 35pc interest in Safaricom to subsidiary Vodacom - Capital Business
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Vodafone transfers 35pc interest in Safaricom to subsidiary Vodacom

Through its subsidiary, Vodafone Kenya, the group will continue to hold a 5 percent direct interest in Safaricom/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 15 – Vodafone Group Plc has announced it is transferring a 35 percent stake of its Safaricom interests to its Sub-Saharan subsidiary, Vodacom.

Through its subsidiary, Vodafone Kenya, the group will continue to hold a 5 percent direct interest in Safaricom, with the Kenyan Government, through Treasury, holding 35 percent and the rest trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Vodafone will swap the stake in Safaricom for new ordinary Vodacom shares valued at €2,361 million (Sh257 billion) based on Vodacom’s closing share price on Friday 12 May 2017, increasing Vodafone’s ownership in Vodacom from 65 percent to 70 percent.

As part of the transaction, Vodafone Group has given appropriate assurances to the Government of Kenya to ensure the ongoing success of the long-standing partnership between Safaricom, Vodafone Group and the Government of Kenya.

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore says the arrangement will deepen the mobile telco’s expertise and expand its reach.

“The agreement Vodafone Group has reached with the Government of Kenya will ensure Safaricom continues to have strong Kenyan representation at Board and management levels, and promotes the continued successful expansion of the company as well as the opportunity to drive M-PESA to other markets in the continent,” said Collymore.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals from Vodacom minority shareholders, approval from the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank and confirmation from the Kenya Capital Markets Authority that the Transaction does not trigger an obligation for Vodacom to make a mandatory bid for Safaricom.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017.

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