Vodacom's black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme, YeboYethu, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) today.
It joins the Empowerment Segment in the telecommunications sector of the exchange's main board.
"We are pleased with what YeboYethu has achieved in terms of true broad-based empowerment in South Africa. Its transition to the JSE, one of the world's most highly regarded stock exchanges, is a significant milestone for a large group of shareholders who can now trade their ordinary shares on the JSE BEE segment," says Vodacom group CEO Shameel Joosub.
YeboYethu is the third company to list on the JSE's Empowerment Segment, which currently has a total market capitalisation of approximately R7.46 billion. This follows listings of Sasol Inzalo and MTN Zakhele late last year.
Donna Nemer, director of capital markets at the JSE, says the Empowerment Segment will help to foster broad-based share ownership of listed companies by black shareholders.
"The listing of BEE shares on the JSE provides black shareholders with a platform to trade their shares on one of the best regulated exchanges in the world, offering them guaranteed settlement in a transparent environment," says Nemer.
"Regulatory certainty aside, one of the major advantages of this move is an anticipated increase in liquidity, which can only be positive for buyers and sellers alike," adds Joosub.
"Being listed on the JSE also means YeboYethu shareholders will have wider and easier access to professional broking services offered by JSE members," he says.
"These are exciting times for the YeboYethu BEE scheme as we're increasing the protection of YeboYethu investors, ensuring they continue to maximise value from their shares, using the JSE BEE segment," says Zarina Bassa, chairman of YeboYethu.
In the past, BEE shares were traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) BEE market, but in 2014 the Financial Services Board mandated that these shares must be traded on a licensed exchange in future.
YeboYethu was established in 2008 "with the express intention of providing true grassroots empowerment", according to Vodacom. At the time, it issued 14.4 million shares at R25 each and as a result of the public offer, approximately 102 000 qualifying black investors bought a stake in Vodacom SA. To date, over 87 500 black investors now own these shares.
At the time of implementation of the Vodacom SA BEE transaction, valued at R7.5 billion, it was one of the largest empowerment schemes in the telecommunications industry, resulting in YeboYethu owning up to 3.44% of Vodacom SA.
Between February 2014 and July 2016, these shares changed hands on the YeboYethu OTC trading platform. The closing pricing on the OTC trading platform on Friday, 15 July 2016, was R53.01 per share.
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