Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD) has raised ZAR14.85bn through the sale of a 5.2% stake in South African mobile network operator Vodacom Group Ltd.
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., sold an aggregate of 90 million ordinary shares in Vodacom.
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Vodafone now indirectly owns 1,110,629,881 ordinary shares, representing a 64.5% stake, in Vodacom following the completion of the placing.
In May, Vodafone transferred a 35% indirect holding in Kenyan mobile network Safaricom Ltd to Vodacom for €2.36bn, in an effort to streamline its holdings in sub-Saharan Africa.
The all-share deal saw Vodafone International receive 226.8 million new ordinary shares in Vodacom, increasing its stake in Vodacom from 65% to 70%.
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Vodafone said in today’s statement that it has agreed not to sell, distribute or dispose of any ordinary shares in Vodacom that are not sold in the placing for 90 days after completion.
Separately, the company announced that has purchased 9,523,139 ordinary shares at an average price of 216.8p per share from JP Morgan Securities PLC as part of a buyback programme announced last month.
Shares in Vodafone fell 0.74% to 214.70p.