The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of an amended shareholder agreement between Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Group.
The agreement entails amending Vodafone Egypt’s dividend policy, with the company paying out exceptional dividends estimated at LE10 billion to shareholders in 2021, LE2 billion of which has already been paid out last March. The two parties also agreed to set a minimum future dividend of 60% of Vodafone Egypt’s free cash flow (FCF).
Pursuant to the agreement, Vodafone Group has the right to transfer the ownership of its share in Vodafone Egypt within the Group. Telecom Egypt, however, retains the rights provided in the current shareholders’ agreement, in addition to gaining some additional minority rights, including the right to obtain information about its investment within the Group.
For his part, Telecom Egypt CEO Adel Hamed said that his company is pleased to reach such agreement, which benefits both parties, with Telecom Egypt being a strategic partner for Vodafone Group in the Egyptian market. He stressed that the amended agreement guarantees maintaining the strategic partnership between the two parties in light of the amendments made to the agreement, which secures Telecom Egypt a better vision for its investment within the Group and reassures Telecom Egypt shareholders that continuing with the investment will bear fruit.
Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read highlighted that the agreement will help Vodafone Egypt make more investments, thus growing its business, providing innovative technological solutions, and working with Telecom Egypt and the government to bring about the State’s vision in digitisation and financial inclusion.
