Vodacom, Ex-Employee Plan Out-of-Court Talks to Settle ‘Please Call Me’ Case
- SCA payout would have ‘devastating consequences,’ company says
- Ruling could trigger collapse of Black shareholder structure
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Vodacom Group Ltd. and former employee Kenneth Makate plan to enter private talks to discuss his compensation for a popular call-back phone service he proposed more than two decades ago, hoping to reach an out-of-court settlement.
A February majority judgment by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal would entitle Makate to compensation ranging between 29 billion rand ($1.55 billion) and 63 billion rand, which would have “devastating consequences” for the mobile-network operator, its employees and its investors, the Johannesburg-based Vodacom said in papers filed Feb. 26 to the Constitutional Court to appeal the SCA decision.