The transfer of Vodafone Group Plc’s 70% ownership stake in Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited to Telecel Group has received final approval from Ghana.
After Telecel submitted a new technical and financial proposal in December 2022, the sale was approved.
An initial selling plan put up by Vodafone Ghana at the beginning of last year was rejected by the sector regulator, the National Communications Authority (NCA), since it did not adhere to necessary regulatory criteria.
The new proposal, according to the NCA, met the regulatory requirements and provided additional clarity regarding the cash needed for the transaction.
Aim of Telecel
Senior officials of Telecel say they intend to use the Vodafone Ghana acquisition as a launch pad to the capital markets to raise funds for its operations in Ghana.
Telecel has, therefore, indicated that it plans to issue an Initial Public Offer (IPO) once the acquisition goes through all regulatory approvals from the government for it to acquire majority stake in Vodafone Ghana.
The $500 million all-cash deal is part of Telecel’s expansion strategy into Africa.
The Declaration of the final Approval
The final approval follows “satisfaction of conditions outlined in the conditional approval of the shares transfer, including the agreement of the Government of Ghana, who remains the 30% minority shareholder,” the National Communications Authority (NCA) explained in a release on Tuesday morning (Feb. 21, 2023)
You may recall that the NCA had stated on January 16, 2023, that after reviewing the revised proposal from the Telecel Group, it had given conditional approval for the transfer of the 70% of Vodafone Ghana’s shares held by Vodafone Group Plc (the Seller) to Telecel Group (the Buyer), subject to the Seller making the necessary concessions and the Buyer making the necessary representations to the NCA.
It said the regulator will continue to guide the takeover process in accordance with the existing license conditions of Vodafone Ghana, while ensuring that the interests of consumers are held paramount.
The NCA further assures the public that due process will be followed in the interest of all parties.
