This week Vodacom Tanzania completed the largest initial public offering ever seen on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in its 19 years of existence.
Vodacom raised $219 million for the listing, becoming the first to comply with new regulatory changes requiring telecoms companies in the country to list at least 25 percent on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, according to TechCentral.
The South African telecoms giant is listed on the Main Investment Market Segment of the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange under the ticker ‘VODA’.
Vodacom was trading at a six percent premium to the offer price by the close of the market on Tuesday, according to BusinessTech.
Over 40,000 Tanzanian investors were involved in the IPO, while the country’s major pension funds also chose to invest in the new listing.
Vodacom Group chief executive officer Shameel Joosub commented on the listing, saying that numerous local investors have now become first-time participants in the Tanzanian exchange through the telecommunications company’s listing.
“This is a momentous occasion for Vodacom and for Vodacom Tanzania. What is really exciting is the fact that many local investors are first time participants in the DSE so it significantly boosts local participation in the country’s capital markets,” Joosub explained, according to ITWeb.
“We are pleased with what we have achieved through this IPO process making Vodacom Tanzania the second most valuable company by market capitalisation listed on the DSE,” he added.
The listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange follows a busy period of focus on East Africa for Vodacom, as the telecoms giant recently completed their largest ever acquisition with a fellow telecoms market leader in the region.
Vodacom’s $2.6 billion share acquisition of Safaricom was finalized a week ago, with the South African company now owning a 35 percent stake in the Kenyan telecommunications and mobile operator.
Vodacom announced that all regulatory approvals and conditions related to both Kenya and South Africa have been met, concluding the deal, according to Global Telecoms Business.
