In order to emphasis on important areas, Vodafone Plc has reached an agreement to sell its business in Ghana to Telecel Group.
Subject to certain requirements, the London-listed business will sell its majority stake in Vodafone Ghana to Telecel, an African-focused company, a Vodafone representative said in an email statement.
In 2008, Vodafone entered Ghana by paying the government of the west African nation $900 million to acquire 70% of Ghana Telecommunications Co. In the company, the government still holds a 30% stake.
According to persons familiar with the situation who declined to be identified discussing confidential information, Telecel intends to subsequently sell the cell towers owned by the Ghanaian company to help finance the acquisition.
A representative for Telecel confirmed the talks with Vodafone but declined to comment further.
Nick Read, Vodafone’s chief executive officer, has been focusing the group on Europe and Africa as he streamlines a sprawling operation that once extended from its Newbury, England headquarters all the way to New Zealand.
In Africa, Vodafone has been steadily consolidating interests under its sub-Saharan subsidiary Vodacom Group Ltd., of which it owns 60.5%. Vodafone explored a sale of its Ghanaian business to Vodacom in early 2021 and, while that deal did not materialize, transferred a 55% holding in its Egyptian operations to the group later in the year.
Founded in 1986, Telecel operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 700 staff, according to its website. The company has a history of growth through acquisitions, having struck deals in Gibraltar, Liberia and Mauritania in recent years.
Source:www.bloomberg.com/
