ROSTAM KUUZA HISA ZAKE VODACOM
Tanzania's Richest Man To Sell Stake in Vodacom
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Azizi, 49, is the controlling shareholder of
Cavalry Holdings, a Jersey island-registered private investment company
through which he owned a 35% stake in Vodacom Tanzania. He will be
selling a 17.2% stake for $242 million, while retaining a 17.8% stake in
the company.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Vodacom Group currently owns
65% of Vodacom Tanzania, the country’s largest mobile telecoms network,
with over 9.5 million active subscribers. If the deal is approved by
South Africa’s Reserve Bank, Vodacom Group will own 82.2% of the
company.“The transaction allows Vodacom to increase its exposure to one of Vodacom’s key investments in sub-Saharan Africa,” the company said in a press statement. “Vodacom Tanzania has been Vodacom’s most successful investment outside of South Africa to date.”
Vodacom said it will acquire the 17.2% interest
in Vodacom Tanzania Limited through the subscription for new shares in
Cavalry Holdings, consequently diluting Cavalry’s existing shareholders’
interest in Cavalry from 100% to 51%.
This year, Rostam Azizi, a fifth generation Tanzanian of Persian origin, debuted on FORBES annual rankings of Africa’s Richest People
with a net worth estimated at $1 billion. Azizi has over the years
built a reputation as one of East Africa’s shrewdest investors. Apart
from his Vodacom stake, he owns Caspian Mining, a contract mining
company that provides mining services to BHP Billiton BHP +0.16% and Barrick Gold ABX +0.1%,
and a minority stake in a container terminal in Tanzania. He also owns
extensive real estate in Tanzania, Dubai, Oman and Lebanon. Azizi did
not respond to a request for comment about the Vodacom Tanzania sale.