Following competition commission approval for the transaction, Vodacom Group (Pty) Ltd last week finalised the acquisition of a 51% equity stake in one of its exclusive service providers Smartphone SP (Pty) Ltd trading as Smartcall.
This is in line with its strategy to gain control of its distribution chain. Smartcall is focused only on the prepaid market and at the effective date of acquisition, 1 March 2004, had 2 720 551 registered prepaid subscribers.
Vodacom Group (Pty) Ltd incorporates the leading mobile network operators in SA, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lesotho. It has also recently launched service in Mozambique and with over 11 million customers is the largest mobile operator on the African continent.
Vodacom also recently signed a five-year management agreement with Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited, the second largest mobile operator in Nigeria with over 1 million customers, as part of a process to take an equity stake in that business.
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