Vodafone Plc's South African subsidiary, Vodacom, has acquired 55% of Vodafone Egypt from its parent company. The company reportedly acquired Vodafone’s 132 million shares in Vodafone Egypt in a block trade transaction on the EGX for $2.4 billion.
Vodafone shareholders approved plans to offload the company’s stake in Vodafone Egypt to Vodacom in January, after management greenlit the acquisition in November 2021. Vodafone had been expecting to close before the end of March, but the transaction stretched on as the two sides waited for approvals from Egyptian regulators. Vodafone Plc owns 60.5% of Vodacom, according to public data.
There’s still been no word publicly from the Financial Regulatory Authority or the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority on the sale. Vodafone Egypt could welcome another new shareholder to the mix before the end of the year. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is among three Arab sovereign funds reported to be in talks with Telecom Egypt over the purchase of a 20% stake in Vodafone Egypt.
The South African telco plans to launch financial services products in Egypt through the Vodapay superapp it is developing with Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group. Vodapay is modeled on Alibaba’s Alipay and provides access to a suite of financial services, including online shopping, loans, and mobile payments.
