Vodafone Group sells stake in Vodafone Egypt to its South African subsidiary Vodacom

A 2.7 billion euro share in Vodafone Egypt, around 55 percent of the company’s total value, is being sold by Vodafone Group to its South Africa-based subsidiary, Vodacom, according to a statement issued by the parent company on Wednesday. 

The remaining shares in Vodafone Egypt are owned by state telecommunications provider Telecom Egypt.

Telecom Egypt announced in a statement on Tuesday that it had received a notification from Vodafone Group regarding the sale of the latter’s stake in Vodafone Egypt to Vodacom.

In the same statement, Telecom Egypt asserted that if the major shareholder in the company was to change, then it had the right, under the principle of right of first refusal in the shareholders agreement, to buy Vodafone Group’s shares in Vodafone Egypt.

Ayman Assam, the head of the foreign affairs and legal department at Vodafone Egypt, told Mada Masr that since the deal was internal within Vodafone Group, Telecom Egypt did not have the prerogative to submit a purchase offer. 

Vodafone Group said that the deal would simplify the management of its holdings in Africa, and would strengthen its capacity to deliver financial services to improve financial inclusivity on the continent. 

The transaction is expected to close before March 31, 2022.

The sale comes almost a year after Vodafone abandoned plans to exit the Egyptian market by selling its shares in Vodafone Egypt to Saudi Telecom Company. Multiple sources told Mada Masr at the time that the exit plan was related to anticompetitive practices that Vodafone encountered when dealing with state-owned operator Telecom Egypt.