Back to the complete issue
Wednesday, 29 January 2020

Vodafone confirms plans to exit Egypt

M&A WATCH- Those rumors of Vodafone wanting to bail on Egypt have turned out to be true: Vodafone Group is set to sign a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Telecom (STC) that could see it offload its stake in Vodafone Egypt, the cabinet said in a statement yesterday. This confirms rumors last week that STC was in talks with the multinational to acquire its 55% stake in its Egypt arm.

CEO attributes exit to strategic shift: The statement came following talks between Vodafone Group CEO Nicholas Read, Vodafone Egypt CEO Alexandre Froment-Curtil and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly in Cairo yesterday. Read said that the company has decided to exit Egypt because of its “strategy to focus its investments,” the statement reads. Vodafone has exited several markets in the past year, selling both its New Zealand and Malta units. There is also speculation that it could leave India following disastrous quarterly figures last year.

Regulators are ready to sign-off on the acquisition: A source in the telecoms sector told Al Mal that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority will approve the acquisition after the companies have finalized an agreement. The due diligence process will take a maximum of six months, the source said, adding that financial and legal advisers to oversee the transaction have not yet been appointed.

An acquisition would bring Vodafone’s 22-year history in Egypt to an end: The company has been operating in Egypt since 1998, and is the largest mobile operator in the country.

STC has been eyeing up Vodafone Egypt for years: The Saudi company more than six years ago was reported to be engaged in acquisition talks with state-owned Telecom Egypt over its 45% stake in the company. Telecom Egypt said on Sunday that it has no plans to exit the company.

Telecom Egypt shares rose 6.1% yesterday in anticipation of an acquisition agreement, EGX data shows.

Are we getting an official announcement today? A source close to Vodafone Egypt yesterday told the local press that STC will today announce its acquisition of the company.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.