Vodacom Group is one step closer to acquiring a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt from its UK parent Vodafone, following a general meeting held on Tuesday in which its minority shareholders voted in favour of the move.

The Johannesburg-based company, one of South Africa’s leading cellular networks, is set to acquire the majority stake of the Egypt business for R41 billion.

The company plans to issue 242 million new ordinary shares at R135.75 in order to fund 80% of the cost of buying the stake, with the outstanding R8.2 billion coming from the company.

“This is an exciting and important milestone for Vodacom as the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt will be transformational in our evolution from a telco to a techco,” Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub said in a statement.

“This is a transaction that presents significant diversification and growth opportunities for our shareholders,” Joosub added.

The success of this deal not only promises to shift the company into tech company territory, it also presents it with growth opportunities beyond its key markets, giving it an extra edge over telco MTN.

“With over 80% of Egypt’s 100 million population unbanked Vodacom sees enormous potential to leverage our financial services platforms, global partnerships and best practices in a significant market,” Joosub said.

The success of this deal will also benefit Vodacom’s UK-based parent company Vodafone which is on a mission to consolidate its African operations under Joosub’s leadership.

Vodacom says that although the transaction remains conditional at this stage as it awaits certain approvals from the JSE, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) and Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) – It plans to seal the deal by the end of its financial year in March 2022.