Vodacom May Lose Control of Congo Unit Amid Dispute

29 March 2012

Bloomberg - March 28. 2012

Vodacom Group Ltd. (VOD) may lose control of its wireless unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a court ordered its shares be confiscated to settle a $21 million dispute with a consultant.

The commercial court, based in the capital Kinshasa, on March 26 issued an order to attach Vodacom’s 510,000 shares in its 51-percent held Vodacom Congo SPRL unit in order to enforce its Jan. 25 judgment that Vodacom pay Moto Mabanga’s Namemco Energy (Pty) Ltd. a $21 million consultancy fee, according to court documents provided by Mabanga.

“Vodacom’s appeal against the judgment is still before the court and is due to be heard,” Pieter Uys, the chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based Vodacom, a unit of Vodafone Group Plc, said by phone today. The company has also pleaded to the central African nation’s justice inspectorate to speed up the appeal. “We are aware of the confiscation order. Our lawyers are looking into it and will respond.”

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Category: ICT

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