Johannesburg - A stake in Vodafone Group’s publicly traded South African unit is back up for sale, following the collapse of a previous deal in May that was aimed at increasing black ownership of the phone carrier.
The Vodacom Group stock being sold by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) was valued at about R6 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. That equates to about 2.6 percent of Vodacom, Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by market value.
The PIC is in talks with a number of black investors, according to chief executive Dan Matjila, who declined to discuss the details. No favourite had emerged, and a deal structure had not yet been decided on, Matjila said.
One of the groups included Vodacom chairman Peter Moyo, one of the people familiar with the talks said.
The PIC has R1.86 trillion in investments, most of that overseeing government workers’ pensions. An increase in black ownership would help Johannesburg-based Vodacom meet government rules.
BUSINESS REPORT