Telecommunications giant Vodafone said on Wednesday that it had agreed to transfer its 55% shareholding in Vodafone Egypt to Vodacom Group, its sub-Saharan African subsidiary.
Vodafone stated the transaction was simplify the management of its African holdings, provide Vodacom with exposure to another “leading business in an attractive market”, as well as diversify its portfolio and speed up its growth profile, and enable Vodafone Egypt to accelerate growth in financial services and IoT.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said the transaction valued Vodafone Egypt at €2.72bn on a debt-free, cash-free basis. After taking into account Vodafone’s 55% share of the net debt in Vodafone Egypt, the total equity consideration for the business was €2.36bn.
Approximately 80% of the funds received will be settled by the issue of 242.0m new ordinary Vodacom shares, meaning Vodafone’s ownership in Vodacom will increase from 60.5% to 65.1%. The remaining €473.0m will be settled in cash.
As of 0905 GMT, Vodafone shares were down 0.28% at 111.46p.
