A Safaricom customer uses M-Pesa. /FILE
South Africa's Vodacom has announced the completion of its acquisition of an additional 20 per cent stake in Kenya's Safaricom, effectively taking its total shareholding in the giant telecommunications company to 55 per cent.
The acquisition, valued at $2.1 billion (Sh271.95 billion), was first announced in December 2025 and sees Vodacom acquire a 15 per cent stake from the Government of Kenya (6,009,814,200 ordinary shares valued at Sh204.3 billion), and a further 5 per cent stake from Vodafone Group Plc at Sh34 per share.
The deal announced on Tuesday came three days after the Court of Appeal cleared the transaction.
The Government of Kenya retains a 20 per cent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed company from which it will earn dividends.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government was monetising part of the value created by its long-term investment in Safaricom to finance critical infrastructure projects, including roads, energy systems, water infrastructure and airports.
While maintaining that the transaction was lawful, transparent and approved by Parliament, he said the government remained confident in Safaricom's future growth and reaffirmed that Kenya would remain the company's home.
"Twenty-five years ago, the Government of Kenya made a founding investment in a mobile telephone licence. That investment has grown into Safaricom - a company that has transformed financial inclusion across Africa, connected more than fifty million Kenyans, and contributed over one-and-a-half trillion shillings to the Exchequer. Today, we crystallise a portion of that extraordinary value to invest in the roads, the energy systems, the water infrastructure, and the airports that will power Kenya's next chapter of growth," he said.
"Safaricom's best days are not behind it. They are ahead of it. And Kenya remains its home."
In a statement, Vodacom said completion of the transaction marks a key milestone in the company's Vision 2030 strategy, which is centred on deepening the group's leadership in Africa's high-growth markets and scaling its diversified digital and financial services portfolio.
"This is a landmark moment for Vodacom, for Safaricom and for the communities we serve across East Africa. Acquiring majority ownership in Safaricom strengthens our position as a market leader, while at the same time unlocking new opportunities to drive digital and financial inclusion at scale in Kenya and Ethiopia," Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said.
Safaricom now sits at the heart of Vodacom's East African operations while strengthening the group's presence across high-growth markets outside South Africa, including Central Africa and Egypt.
Safaricom is widely regarded as one of Africa's leading companies, combining social impact, telecommunications, fintech and technology services at scale.
Its flagship M-Pesa platform drives high-impact financial inclusion, with fintech accounting for 44 per cent of revenue in Kenya.
Meanwhile, its expansion into Ethiopia, where it has established a growing customer base of about 14 million subscribers, together with its suite of cloud, IoT and enterprise services, positions the company for continued growth.
"Safaricom's outstanding track record and differentiated growth outlook perfectly complement our Vision 2030 ambitions, empowering us to deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders and to connect millions more people for a better future," Joosub said.
He said he looked forward to working closely with the Safaricom team and learning from its success in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Vodacom said it intends to update the market on or around July 27, 2026, when the group publishes its first-quarter results.
In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Safaricom's financial results will transition from being accounted for as an associate to being fully consolidated into Vodacom's financial statements.
For the 2026 financial year, Vodacom Group reported EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of R63 billion (Sh498 billion).
EBITDA is a financial metric used to evaluate a company's core operational profitability and cash-generating ability by excluding financing costs, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
