Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Safaricom Plc has officially completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of M-Pesa Holdings Co. Limited from Vodacom International Holdings BV, marking a significant milestone in the East African telecommunications and mobile financial services industry.
This culminates a six-month process, which was initiated on April 17, 2023, and saw Safaricom enter into a share purchase agreement with Vodafone International Holdings BV for the transfer of a 100 per cent stake in M-Pesa Holdings Limited from Vodafone BV to Safaricom.
In a statement seen by Business Post on Thursday, it was revealed that Safaricom is now in full ownership of M-Pesa, one of the most iconic mobile money platforms in Kenya and the entire East African territory after all conditions have been duly satisfied including regulatory approval and shareholders’ green light.
M-Pesa Holdings plays a pivotal role as the corporate trustee responsible for holding M-Pesa customer funds under the M-Pesa trust arrangement, as mandated by the National Payment System Regulations of 2014, the statement from the Safaricom press release signed by Mrs Linda Mesa Wambani, its Acting Company Secretary said.
This acquisition ensures that Safaricom has complete control over the stewardship of these funds.
This announcement, according to Safaricom, is in compliance with paragraph G.06 of the fifth schedule of the capital markets (securities) regulations of 2002 in Kenya and serves to inform the public of the successful conclusion of this momentous transaction.
Despite this transition, M-Pesa will continue to function as the corporate trustee of the M-Pesa trust funds, safeguarding the interests of its customers.
