Vodacom agrees to increase Tanzania phone stake for $242m

VODACOM Group Ltd. (VOD) has agreed to increase its stake in the Tanzania division for 2.46 billion rand ($242 million) in cash.Vodacom will increase its holding in Vodacom Tanzania Ltd. to 82.2 percent from 65 percent through acquiring new shares in Cavalry, a private investment company and an indirect shareholder of the business, Vodacom said in a statement yesterday.

The transaction is subject to approval by the South African Reserve Bank, it said.

Vodacom Tanzania is the country’s largest wireless operator with about 10 million customers, and its service revenue jumped 19 percent in the six months through September. Vodafone, which is increasing investments in Europe, India and Africa after exiting the U.S., owns 65 percent of Vodacom.

“The transaction allows Vodacom to increase its exposure to one of Vodacom’s key investments in sub-Saharan Africa,” the company said in the statement. “Vodacom Tanzania has been Vodacom’s most successful investment outside of South Africa to date.”