Telecel has announced plans to re-engage the government of Ghana over the takeover bid for Vodafone Ghana, an official statement on Wednesday has said.
The Africa focused telecom firm was denied regulatory approval by the National Communication Authority (NCA) after failing to meet the technical and financial requirement for the takeover.
“The acquisition is fully financed by Telecel Group and its partners. Telecel confirms that the potential sale of Vodafone Ghana Towers is not part of the acquisition funding,” Telecel said in a statement on Wednesday (3 August).
“Telecel Group and Vodafone have been in touch with Ghana’s Ministry for Communications, the Bank of Ghana, and the National Communications Authority, to finalise all the regulatory requirements related to this transaction.
“We have received their responses which have not granted the approvals yet and Telecel is willing to re-engage soon after putting together the necessary clarifications.”
Below is the full statement:
Background
Bloomberg last week reported that Vodafone Plc has agreed a sale of its operations in Ghana to Telecel Group, as the British telecommunications giant looks to refocus on key markets.
The London-listed company will sell its majority stake in Vodafone Ghana to Africa-focused Telecel, subject to certain conditions, a spokesperson for Vodafone said in an emailed statement .
Vodafone entered Ghana in 2008, paying government US$900 million for 70% of Ghana Telecommunications Co. The government retained a 30% holding in the business.
Vodafone clocked first-quarter revenue growth of 1.6% year-on-year to €11.28 billion, mainly driven by service revenue growth in Europe and Africa.
Telecel plans to help fund the acquisition by offloading the Ghana business’s mobile towers later.
Founded in 1986, Telecel currently operates in over 30 countries.
Fred Dzakpata
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