Vodacom Tanzania shareholders approve sale of tycoon Rostam Azizi’s shares

Dar es Salaam. Vodacom Tanzania shareholders have unanimously approved the sale of Mirambo Holdings’ stake in the company to Vodacom Group of South Africa.

Mirambo Holdings, which owns a 26.25 per cent stake in Vodacom Tanzania, is the investment vehicle of Tanzanian multi-millionaire tycoon Rostam Aziz.

The shareholders voted in favour of the sale during their extraordinary general meeting in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.

Announcing the voting results, the Vodacom Tanzania internal auditor, Mr Alvin Kajula said 88.18 per cent of the eligible shareholders voted in favour of the sale.

Mirambo’s stake in Vodacom Tanzania is currently valued at more than $200 million (about Sh460 billion) but it is not yet clear how much Vodacom South Africa will be paying the Tanzanian tycoon for the stake.

In 2014, Aziz sold off a 17.2 per cent stake in Vodacom Tanzania to Vodacom South Africa for a reported $240 million. At the time, Aziz held the shares via Cavalry Holdings, a Jersey island-registered private investment company.

Vodacom Tanzania, which has more than 11 million active subscribers, is the country’s largest mobile phone company, and Vodacom Group’s second most successful operation in Africa, after its South African unit that boasts more than 23 million subscribers. Last August, the company made its debut on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.

Rostam Aziz, 57, was once Tanzania’s richest man and the country's first billionaire. Apart from his shareholding in Vodacom Tanzania, he built a fortune from stakes in contract mining firm Caspian Mining, a Port in Dar es Salaam, extensive real estate in Tanzania and the Middle East and investments in Tanzanian media.