Safaricom PLC has completed its acquisition of M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, the company announced Wednesday.
The telecommunications giant acquired 100% of M-PESA Holding’s shares from Vodafone International Holdings BV in a deal first announced in April. The completion comes after receiving approval from shareholders, regulators and satisfying other customary closing conditions, according to the company.
“This notice is issued pursuant to Paragraph G.06 of the Fifth Schedule of the Capital Markets (Securities) (Public Offers, Listing and Disclosures) Regulations 2002 and constitutes an announcement duly informing the Public of the successful completion of the Transaction,” the company said in a statement.
M-PESA Holding acts as the corporate trustee responsible for holding M-PESA customer funds under the country’s mobile money regulations. Safaricom said M-PESA Holding will continue in that role after the acquisition.
M-PESA, which launched in Kenya in 2007, has become the country’s leading mobile money transfer service with over 30 million active customers.
The acquisition gives Safaricom full control of the popular platform as it looks to expand M-PESA into new markets and services.
“Post completion, M-PESA Holding will continue to act as the corporate trustee of the M-PESA trust funds,” the company statement said.
Safaricom, which is partly owned by Vodafone and operates Kenya’s largest mobile network, said the purchase was first announced in April after a share purchase agreement with Vodafone International Holdings BV.
Safaricom’s contribution to the Kenyan economy surged 25 percent in the past year, approaching the KES 1 trillion milestone, according to the company’s latest annual sustainability report.
The report shows Safaricom’s total economic value grew by KES 182.3 billion to KES 909.5 billion, up from KES 727.2 billion the previous year.
Safaricom says it sustained nearly 1.16 million jobs directly and indirectly, expanding its impact in an economy where new opportunities have not kept pace with demand from youth leaving schools.
The telco attributes the growth partly to expanded M-Pesa services, which saw social value rise 17.7 percent to KES 325 billion as more customers made higher value transactions.
M-Pesa alone employs thousands of agents nationwide and enables payments for countless merchants, cementing its role as a pillar of the payments system.
