Deals
Vodafone South Africa Said to Buy $2.8 Billion Safaricom Stake
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Vodafone Group Plc’s South Africa unit agreed to buy a 35 percent shareholding in Safaricom Ltd., giving the U.K. wireless operator majority control of Kenya’s biggest company, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Vodacom Group Ltd., 65 percent owned by the U.K. mobile-phone company, could announce the deal on Monday, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The stake is owned by the Kenyan government, according to one of the people, and is valued at 284 billion shillings ($2.75 billion), based on Safaricom’s current share price. Vodafone already owns almost 40 percent of the Kenyan company directly.