Vodacom has completed its acquisition of an extra 20% stake in Safaricom, raising its total shareholding to 55%, in a $2.1 billion deal finalised this week.
South Africa's Vodacom has officially completed its acquisition of an additional 20 per cent stake in Kenya's Safaricom, pushing its total shareholding in the telecommunications giant to 55 per cent.
The Deal in Numbers
The transaction, valued at $2.1 billion (Sh271.95 billion), was first announced back in December 2025 and has now finally closed. It breaks down into two parts:
- A 15 per cent stake acquired from the Government of Kenya — 6,009,814,200 ordinary shares valued at Sh204.3 billion
- A further 5 per cent stake acquired from Vodafone Group Plc, purchased at Sh34 per share
The deal was announced on Tuesday, just three days after the Court of Appeal cleared the transaction to proceed.
With this sale, the Government of Kenya now retains a 20 per cent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed company, from which it will continue earning dividends.
Why the Government Sold Its Stake
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi explained that the sale was about monetising part of the value the government had built through its long-term investment in Safaricom, in order to fund critical infrastructure projects — roads, energy systems, water infrastructure and airports.
He was firm that the transaction was lawful and above board:
"Twenty-five years ago, the Government of Kenya made a founding investment in a mobile telephone licence. That investment has grown into Safaricom - a company that has transformed financial inclusion across Africa, connected more than fifty million Kenyans, and contributed over one-and-a-half trillion shillings to the Exchequer. Today, we crystallise a portion of that extraordinary value to invest in the roads, the energy systems, the water infrastructure, and the airports that will power Kenya's next chapter of growth."
Mbadi added that the government remains confident in Safaricom's future, stating plainly:
"Safaricom's best days are not behind it. They are ahead of it. And Kenya remains its home."
What This Means for Vodacom
For Vodacom, the completed deal marks a key milestone under its Vision 2030 strategy, which is centred on deepening its leadership across Africa's high-growth markets and scaling its digital and financial services portfolio.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub called it a landmark moment for all parties involved:
"This is a landmark moment for Vodacom, for Safaricom and for the communities we serve across East Africa. Acquiring majority ownership in Safaricom strengthens our position as a market leader, while at the same time unlocking new opportunities to drive digital and financial inclusion at scale in Kenya and Ethiopia."
Safaricom now becomes the anchor of Vodacom's East African operations, while also strengthening the group's footprint in other high-growth markets outside South Africa, including Central Africa and Egypt.
Why Safaricom Is Such a Prized Asset
Safaricom is widely regarded as one of Africa's leading companies, blending telecommunications, fintech, technology services and social impact at scale. Its flagship M-Pesa platform remains a major driver of financial inclusion across the region, with fintech accounting for 44 per cent of the company's revenue in Kenya alone.
Beyond Kenya, Safaricom's expansion into Ethiopia has grown its subscriber base there to roughly 14 million, complemented by its suite of cloud, IoT and enterprise services — all of which position the company for continued growth.
Joosub said the outlook was a strong fit for Vodacom's broader ambitions:
"Safaricom's outstanding track record and differentiated growth outlook perfectly complement our Vision 2030 ambitions, empowering us to deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders and to connect millions more people for a better future."
He added that he was looking forward to working closely with the Safaricom team and learning from its track record of success in both Kenya and Ethiopia.
What Happens Next
Vodacom has indicated it will provide a further update to the market around July 27, 2026, when the group releases its first-quarter results.
Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Safaricom's financials will now shift from being accounted for as an associate company to being fully consolidated into Vodacom's financial statements going forward.
For context on scale, Vodacom Group reported EBITDA of R63 billion (Sh498 billion) for the 2026 financial year — a core profitability metric that strips out financing costs, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to reflect a company's underlying cash-generating power.