“In accordance with due process, the Authority evaluated the application on various criteria and engaged both Vodafone and Telecel Group. After a critical regulatory review and evaluation, the NCA concluded that the request did not meet the regulatory threshold for approval to be granted,” the National Communications Authority (NCA) has said.
Vodafone Plc, the parent company of Vodafone Ghana, is set to sell its operations in Ghana to the Telecel Group.
The company is reportedly in the final stages of selling its Ghana stake to the British telecommunications giant to refocus on key markets.
In 2008, Vodafone assumed 70% ownership of the business from the Government of Ghana, becoming the majority shareholder.
According to report, Telecel group plans to offload the Ghana business mobile tower to help fund the acquisition.
Nick Read, Vodafone’s chief executive officer, has been focusing the group on Europe and Africa as he streamlines a sprawling operation that once extended from its Newbury, England headquarters all the way to New Zealand.
However, the NCA has dismissed media reports that it was deliberately blocking the sale of Vodafone to Telecel describing the reports as false.
The NCA in a statement said: “in January 2022, the NCA received an application for the transfer of 70% majority shares in Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Vodafone Ghana) from Vodafone International Holdings B.V. to the Telecel Group.”
