A government document obtained by local news outlet Daily News Egypt has reportedly confirmed that the state is planning to divest its stake in Vodafone Egypt as part of a wider sale of shareholdings in public and private assets, which it hopes to complete by June 2024.
According to the report, it has been told by unnamed sources that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is close to finalising its acquisition of the government’s stake in Vodafone Egypt, which is held by local fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt; a final agreement could now be reached by next month. Notably, with talks over a possible deal have been ongoing for some months, previous reports had suggested that there remained some disagreement over the level of stake to be divested, with the government keen to retain 20% of Vodafone Egypt’s shares. This latest update on the matter suggests that TE’s entire 45% shareholding may now be divested, however.