NCA gives final approval of acquisition of 70% stake in Vodafone Ghana

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has said it has given final approval for the transfer of the 70 per cent Majority Shares in Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone Ghana) held by Vodafone International Holdings B.X to Telecel Group subject to concessions made by the Seller and representations made by the Buyer to the NCA.

‘The final approval follows the satisfaction of conditions outlined in the conditional approval of the shares transfer,” a statement by the NCA said on Tuesday February 21.

The NCA earlier announced that it has granted conditional approval for the transfer.

It would be recalled that in January 2022 the NCA received an application from Vodafone Ghana for the transfer of 70 per cent of its majority shares held by the Seller to the Buyer.

In accordance with due process, the authority said it evaluated the application on various criteria and engaged both Vodafone Ghana and the buyer.

The NCA said it concluded that the request did not meet the regulatory threshold for approval to be granted.

Following the NCA’s decision, the buyer resubmitted a revised financial and technical proposal in December 2022 which demonstrated the needed capital investment to the extend the deployment of 4G and launch innovative Fintech solutions.

“The NCA found the revised proposals provided more clarity and certainty in terms of the funding required for the acquisition and the commitments from both the Seller and the Buyer,” a statement said.

It added that ” in addition, the buyer has strengthened the overall governance and management team and made firm commitment towards meeting the regulatory requirements of the NCA.

“Based on the above, the NCA confirms that the revised proposal from the Buyer now meets the regulatory threshold and hence has granted a conditional approval for the transfer of shares to the Buyer including submissions of strategies for employee retention.”