Vodacom is interested in increasing its black ownership, saying it would be "beneficial" if the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) chose to sell its shares in the company to black investors.
This after Bloomberg reported the PIC is negotiating to sell R6 billion worth of shares, equating to about 2.6% of the telco's overall stock, after similar sales talks were abandoned earlier this year.
"The Vodacom shares held by the PIC is a PIC matter and does not require Vodacom's involvement or approval. Nonetheless, should the PIC elect to sell Vodacom shares, it would be beneficial to Vodacom if such shares were sold to black investors," Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy told ITWeb.
"As a company with roots in SA, we are committed to delivering on the ideals of black economic empowerment and continue to explore a variety of options with the primary objective of broad-based inclusivity while increasing our black ownership from current levels of circa 18.7%. If Vodacom were to complete a transaction of this nature, we would do so through a well-governed, transparent process," Kennedy adds.
The PIC, which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund, acquired government's 13.91% interest in Vodacom last year to boost its ownership in the telco to over 15%. The government stake was said to be worth over R28 billion, and the sale was prompted by government's need to help finance a R23 billion bailout allocation for struggling power utility Eskom.
In April, PIC CEO Dan Matjila confirmed with ITWeb that it had been approached by various black economic empowerment (BEE) consortiums to buy a portion of its Vodacom shares, but the group later abandoned the planned sale.
Vodacom's share price has risen over 6% in the past year, and this morning was trading at around R149.68 per share. The telco's market cap is worth over R220 billion.
An increase in black ownership at Vodacom would be in line with South Africa's efforts to boost BEE through policies like the Department of Trade and Industry's BEE Codes of Good Practice and the ICT Sector Code.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa's recently delayed spectrum auction also gave a 30% black-ownership minimum to applicants looking to gain access to radio frequency spectrum.
However, the auction, set to take place in May, has been derailed after the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services was granted an interdict to stop the process last month.
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