This week, Ghana’s National Communication Authority (NCA) release a statement stating that they had approved the takeover of Vodafone Ghana by the Telecel Group. Telecel will be a majority owner of Vodafone Ghana with the acquisition of 70% of the company.
A Timeline Of Events Leading To The Sale
In 2019, Vodafone Ghana recently went through a restructuring exercise which will reportedly impact their workforce. 100 workers were laid off as a result of the exercise. The company was restructuring “how it operates in order to remain fit-for-purpose, agile and nimble.”
In 2021, Vodafone Group look at different options to sell its Ghana business unit as the company focused on reorganising and paying down debt.
In that same year, there were reports that the Government of Ghana was considering a merger between AirtelTigo and Vodafone Ghana. The Government had just acquired 100% shares of Airtel from its parent company.
In July 2022, a Bloomberg report stated that Vodafone PLC had sold its 70% shares to the Telecel Group for its business in Ghana pending government approval. A few weeks later, the Minister of Communication stated that the Telecel group was “not unsuitable” to take over Vodafone Ghana.
This week, the National Communication Authority (NCA) in Ghana put out a press release stating that the Telecel Group had been approved to purchase the 70% shares of Vodafone Ghana.
Why it matters
With Vodafone officially in the hands of the new owners, there could been some major shake ups from the sale.
Telecel plans to help fund its new acquisition by offloading the Ghana business’s mobile towers. The question this raises is what happens to the quality service of Vodafone and what future plans will the new owners have for Vodafone in Ghana.
What happens next
The deal for the acquisition will be finalised and later approved this year with Telecel becoming majority owners of Vodafone Ghana.
The numbers
In 2008, Vodafone officially enter the Ghanaian market with its purchase of Ghana Telecommunications Co. for $900 Million for 70% share.
The officially numbers for the purchase of 70% shares by Telecel have not been made public.
Currently, Vodafone’s market share of mobile subscriptions in Ghana is around 19.59%. MTN currently dominates the space with 69.72% share (or 16,514,507 subscribers) as of April 2022.
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Source:
technovagh.com
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