Last Minute Scare Over Vodacom Deal

The final two days running up to the listing of South Africa's leading mobile operator Vodacom on South Africa's stock exchange saw something of a storm blow up around the company, raising questions about its future. The deal for UK-based mobile company Vodafone to buy an extra 15% of Vodacom from its co-shareholder Telkom, making Vodafone the majority shareholder, was apparently proceeding without a hitch, having received approval from all relevant bodies. At the last minute, however, the regulator ICASA decided to reverse its approval, in support of an action taken by COSATU, a trade union body, to block the deal.

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