Ghana - Vodafone

Ghana: Vodafone Acquires 50 Percent Shares in GT

A day after the Minority in Parliament raised issues over government's negotiations with Vodafone Plc UK, over the sale of 70% shares in Ghana Telecom (GT), government has announced that it had reached an agreement with the company, in a partnership deal for 50% shares in GT.

Contrary to the Minority's claim that Vodafone's offer was $960 million with stringent caveats, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, says that in consideration of the agreement, GT's enterprise value is at approximately US$1.3 billion, which is subject to approval from Parliament.

He stressed that the Government of Ghana (GOG) still retains a 30% stake in GT, adding that government had further reached an understanding with Vodafone, to float the remaining 20% GT shares on the Ghana Stock Market, as soon as possible.

This was contained in a statement, issued and signed, by the Minister himself.

According to him, the transaction would benefit Ghanaians, such that it will re-engineer GT to deliver a superior product, and service to Ghanaians in every part of the country, and also raise its (GTs) mobile market share, to provide competitive per minute call charge.

He added that Ghanaians would also benefit in areas of efficient service, to ensure uninterrupted service to the consumer, injection of substantial investment into the economy, stressing that the company would leverage its experience in over five countries, and partner networks in an additional 42 countries, with over 260 million customers worldwide, to provide the best service in telecommunications.

"Vodafone's brand and successful customer provisions, such as ultra-low cost handsets, will accelerate Ghana Telecom's growth," he stressed.

The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone, Arun Sarin, is quoted to have said "Ghana is the most attractive market in Africa, with mobile subscribers growing at more than 55% per annum, and mobile penetration around 35%. Our extensive operating experience, together with our portfolio of products and services, position us well to deliver a superior mobile experience to Ghanaian customers, and significantly improve financial performance."

The CEO said, "I expect our investment will generate substantial benefits for Vodafone and for the Ghanaian economy, and we are delighted that we will be working in partnership with the Government of Ghana."

It will be recalled that on Wednesday, the Minority said it was concerned about the general lack of openness and fairness, with which government was conducting negotiations.

It thus averred that government had included the National Fibre Optic backbone, constructed at the cost of $100 million, with a loan from China, which has never been part of GT's assets, saying, "we demand to know why this has been included as part of GT's assets, as the second phase of this ICT infrastructure highway is yet to commence."

The Minority raised the concerns, because of its suspicion of a mysterious shareholding matter, in relation to Vodafone Plc acquisition of Safaricom, Kenya's largest and most profitable company.