{"id":867516,"date":"2026-07-27T08:46:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T06:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=867516"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T06:46:34","slug":"new-era-for-vodacom-after-taking-control-of-international-giant-in-r35-billion-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/telecommunications\/867516\/new-era-for-vodacom-after-taking-control-of-international-giant-in-r35-billion-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"New era for Vodacom after taking control of international giant in R35 billion deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vodacom has increased its revenue targets by R100 billion to over R300 billion by 2030, following its R35 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenyan telecommunications giant Safaricom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group announced that it completed the purchase of an additional 20% stake in Safaricom on 30 June 2026, increasing its shareholding from 35% to 55%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $2.1 billion (R35 billion) transaction, first announced in December 2025, included the purchase of a 15% stake from the Kenyan government and an effective additional 5% stake from Vodafone Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kenyan government will retain a 20% shareholding in Safaricom, which remains listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the acquisition complete, Vodacom now has a controlling interest in one of Africa’s largest telecommunications, financial services and technology businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under international accounting rules, Safaricom’s financial results will now be fully consolidated into Vodacom’s financial statements rather than being treated as an associate investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal has prompted Vodacom to substantially increase its Vision 2030 revenue target from more than R200 billion to more than R300 billion, while also raising its medium-term earnings expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub described the acquisition as a defining moment for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This quarter marked a defining moment for Vodacom with the completion of our acquisition of a controlling stake in Safaricom, increasing our shareholding from 35% to 55%, effective 30 June,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This strategically important transaction represents a major milestone in our Vision 2030 journey, significantly enhancing the Group’s scale, diversification and long-term growth prospects.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joosub said the acquisition creates a more balanced business with stronger exposure to fast-growing African markets and digital services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are now entering a new phase of growth, supported by a more balanced portfolio, broader earnings drivers and increased exposure to some of Africa’s most attractive opportunities in connectivity, digital services and financial inclusion,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vodacom’s financial performance <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Vodacom upgraded its medium-term EBITDA and operating free cash flow growth targets from double-digit to early-teens. The transaction also substantially expands the company’s financial services business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial services now contribute more than 22% of group service revenue, up from 13% before the acquisition, strengthening Vodacom’s position in Africa’s rapidly growing fintech market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Including Safaricom, Vodacom’s mobile money platforms now process approximately $547.9 billion in transaction value annually, representing growth of 19.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition also significantly increases the combined scale of the two companies. During the 2026 financial year, Vodacom reported EBITDA of R63 billion, while Safaricom generated EBITDA of R29 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement accompanied Vodacom’s trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, which showed continued growth across most of its operations despite the stronger rand reducing the value of earnings generated outside South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Group revenue increased 5.9% to R42.4 billion, while service revenue rose 6.3% to R34.3 billion. On a normalised basis that removes currency effects, service revenue grew 12.6%, keeping the group on track to meet its medium-term growth objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial services remained one of the strongest performers, with revenue increasing 17.8% to R4.5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa recorded more modest service revenue growth of 2%, although Vodacom said its prepaid business returned to growth after measures aimed at improving customer value and simplifying its offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Joosub said the company will focus on integrating its enlarged portfolio and investing in network infrastructure, digital services and financial technology while maintaining returns for shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Following the completion of milestone transactions, Maziv and Safaricom, Vodacom has shaped its strategy for the future. Our focus now shifts to unlocking the full potential of our portfolio through disciplined execution, innovation and capital allocation,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am confident that the actions we are taking today will create long-term value for shareholders while advancing our purpose of connecting people for a better future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rm<\/strong><\/td>Quarter ended 30 June 2026<\/strong><\/td>Quarter ended 30 June 2025<\/strong><\/td>YoY % change Reported<\/strong><\/td>YoY % change Normalised*<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
Group revenue<\/strong><\/td>42,404<\/strong><\/td>40,028<\/strong><\/td>5.9<\/strong><\/td>11.4<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
South Africa<\/td>22,872<\/td>22,520<\/td>1.6<\/td>1.6<\/td><\/tr>
Egypt<\/td>11,094<\/td>9,346<\/td>18.7<\/td>36.3<\/td><\/tr>
International<\/td>8,625<\/td>8,427<\/td>2.3<\/td>12.1<\/td><\/tr>
Group service revenue<\/strong><\/td>34,287<\/strong><\/td>32,258<\/strong><\/td>6.3<\/strong><\/td>12.6<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
South Africa<\/td>16,105<\/td>15,793<\/td>2.0<\/td>2.0<\/td><\/tr>
Egypt<\/td>9,827<\/td>8,495<\/td>15.7<\/td>32.8<\/td><\/tr>
International<\/td>8,472<\/td>8,137<\/td>4.1<\/td>14.0<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Vodacom has increased its revenue targets by R100 billion to over R300 billion by 2030, following its R35 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenyan telecommunications giant Safaricom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":856155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"X returned HTTP 403: You are not allowed to create a Tweet with duplicate content.","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[5246,853,27],"class_list":["post-867516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-telecommunications","tag-safaricom","tag-south-africa","tag-vodacom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867516"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867523,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867516\/revisions\/867523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}