Vodafone ends talks with STC to sell its stake in Egypt's unit

CAIRO – 21 December 2020: Vodafone Group announced Monday the end of the talks with Saudi Telecom Company to sell its 55 percent stake in the Egyptian unit for $2.4 billion.

“Egyptian government is committed to an optimal framework for the telecoms sector, which will enable Vodafone Egypt to deliver on the country’s vision of digitization and financial inclusion and create a technology hub to support our growth in the African region,” Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read clarified. 

In September, Saudi Arabia's largest telecoms operator Saudi Telecom Co (STC) said it has not reached an agreement with the British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc to buy a 55 percent stake in its Egypt business.

Vodafone CEO Nicholas Read said in January that he informed the Egyptian government that Vodafone group has signed an MoU with the Saudi giant tech STC, adding that the latter will probably buy 55 percent of International Vodafone’s share in Vodafone Egypt.

In a stock exchange filing by STC to the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul, the former said the two sides have failed to finalize the terms before the MoU’s deadline but agreed to keep the dialogue open.

State-owned Telecom Egypt owns 45 percent of Vodafone Egypt shares. In February, it said that all options related to the sale of the Vodafone stake to STC are still being considered and studied.