Decision on sale of state’s Vodacom stake expected soon

SOUTH Africa is in advanced talks about the terms of the sale of some or all of its R27.7 billion stake in Vodafone Group’s African unit and a deal could be announced as early as this week, according to people familiar with the discussions. The state-owned Public Investment Corporation would probably buy all of the government’s 13.91 percent stake in Vodacom, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deal had yet to be announced. The purchase will probably be completed in stages, according to one of the people. “We are not commenting on what non-core assets are going to be sold to raise money,” Treasury spokeswoman Phumza Macanda said yesterday. Vodacom declined to comment. Proceeds from the stake sale will go towards a rescue package for Eskom, which needs to build or develop new plants to resolve the electricity shortage. Vodacom shares gained 1.96 percent to R133.70 by the market close on the JSE yesterday. – Bloomberg