Vodacom shareholders approve Vodafone Egypt takeover

Vodacom’s proposed takeover of Vodafone Egypt was approved by Vodacom’s minority shareholders during a general meeting on Tuesday morning.

“Vodacom Group’s proposed acquisition of a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt cleared a crucial hurdle today when Vodacom minority shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the transaction,” the operator said in a statement.

The shareholders also approved resolutions that paved the way to fund the R41 billion (US$2.738 billion) transaction, Vodacom said.

“Subject to the final outstanding regulatory approvals, Vodacom will fund the acquisition of Vodafone Group plc’s 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt by issuing 242 million new ordinary shares at R135.75 per share in addition to around R8.2 billion (US$548 million) in cash,” the operator stated.

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub described the meeting’s outcome as an “exciting and important” milestone for Vodacom.

“The acquisition of Vodafone Egypt will be transformational in our evolution from a telco to a techco. This is a transaction that presents significant diversification and growth opportunities for our shareholders,” Joosub stated.

“With over 80% of Egypt’s 100 million population unbanked, Vodacom sees enormous potential to leverage our financial services platforms, global partnerships and best practices in a significant market,” he added.

Vodacom said it aimed to close the transaction before the end of March 2022.

But the deal remains conditional upon approvals from the JSE, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt, and Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority.

“Given the related-party nature of the transaction, Vodacom has ensured appropriate governance controls were put in place so that the deal is executed and concluded on an arm’s length basis,” Vodacom said.

“As a result, Vodafone, which currently holds a 60.5% stake in Vodacom Group, was precluded from voting on the approval of the transaction at the General Meeting.”

The results of the general meeting were as follows:

• Ordinary resolution number 1 — Approval of the transaction: 99% in favour. For JSE listing requirements, the votes of Vodafone plc are excluded.
• Ordinary resolution number 2 — Approval of the consideration shares: 99.58% in favour.
• Special resolution — Granting authority to issue consideration shares to the sellers: 99.58% in favour.

Main Image: Shameel Joosula