Vodacom sell-off expected to be worth ZAR7.5bn

South Africa’s largest cellular operator Vodacom is expected to sell a stake of around ZAR7.5 billion (USD1 billion) to meet the legal requirements for black ownership. Under current black empowerment rules, South African companies must have 30% black ownership, but a clause has set a ZAR7.5 billion cap on the size of the stake that should be offered and, according to a report from local newspaper Business Day, this is estimated to be around 7% of Vodacom’s share capital. It is thought that current 50/50 owners Telkom and Vodafone will sell the same number of shares each so that they retain equal ownership rights.