Ghana Telecom Second Divestiture (Vodafone Ghana)

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In August 2008, the government of Ghana sold 70% of the national fixed and mobile operator Ghana Telecom to United Kingdom's group Vodafone for US$900 million. The divestiture process started in April 2007 and followed a competitive negotiation process. Of the original 20 applicants, 6 companies were short-listed to bid: Etisalat, Belgian Telecom, Singapore Telecom, Portugal Telecom, Vodacom, and France Telecom. Subsequently, the latter three were invited to negotiate with the government in a final selection in November 2007. In January 2008, the government suspended the process, saying that the bids undervalued its assets. On 3 July 2008, Vodafone announced that Vodafone International Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vodafone Group, had agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for US$900 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis, implying a total enterprise value for Ghana Telecom of approximately US$1.3 billion. On 14 August 2008, the parliament approved the deal. The government kept a 30% stake in the company. The transaction included a number of key assets, such as mobile operator One Touch and ownership of exclusive rights of access to the Sat-3/WASC submarine cable from Ghana. Ghana Telecom owned One Touch, which had 1.4 million subscribers by 31 March 2008 and a market share of 17% out of a total Ghanaian market of 7,604,053 mobile subscribers by 31 December 2007. UBS was the advisor of Vodafone for the acquisation of Ghana Telecom. Capex 2011 based on Vodafone financial data: parent capex * subscribers Vodafone country subsidiary / subscribers of total Vodafone users in AMAP (220.1m)