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Sale of Vodacom’s Congo stake suspended
06 June 2012
DR Congo supreme court’s decision will enable Vodacom to maintain its presence in Congo for now
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The supreme court of the Democratic Republic of Congo has called off a mandatory sale of Vodacom’s stake in its local unit, Bloomberg reported.
Richard Boorman, a spokesman for Vodacom, told the agency that a letter from DR Congo’s supreme court “postpones the auction pending the outcome of certain legal proceedings already under way”.
The country’s commercial court wanted to sell 510,000 shares of Vodacom Congo in order to pay $21 million to former consultant Moto Mabanga’s Nameco Energy to settle a dispute. The postponement will allow Vodacom to maintain its presence in the country.
In 2011, Mabanga had indicted Vodacom, demanding a $40.8 million fee for consultancy work done during 2007 and 2008. On May 16, the commercial court seized Vodacom’s 510,000 shares which represented Vodacom’s 51% stake in the local unit. Mabanga told the agency that he intends to challenge the court’s decision.
Vodacom is conducting three separate court processes to try to prevent the sale of its shares in the operation. GTB
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