Cairo – Mubasher: Vodafone will continue its presence in the Egyptian market through Vodafone Intelligent Solutions (VOIS), which provides a range of services to Vodafone’s operations around the world.

This announcement came after Saudi Telecom Company (stc) had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vodafone to acquire 55% shareholding in Vodafone Egypt for $2.392 billion, equivalent to EGP 37.8 billion (SAR 8.97 billion), according to a statement by Vodafone on Wednesday.

VOIS has services centres in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria where around 7,800 people are employed, with plans over the coming 12-18 months to recruit at least 1,000 more people in VOIS.

After concluding the deal which will be effective for a period of 75 days, Vodafone and stc plan to enter a long-term partner market agreement to guarantee that Vodafone Egypt will continue to offer its businesses, services, and innovations to its customers.

The market agreement includes a range of services, such as the use of the Vodafone brand, preferential roaming arrangements, and access to Vodafone’s central procurement function.

Chief Executive of Vodafone Group, Nick Read, commented: “Under stc, I believe they will continue to flourish. This transaction is consistent with our efforts to simplify the Group to two differentiated, scaled geographic regions - Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.”

He further added, “It will reduce our net debt and unlock value for our shareholders. We look forward to continuing our close relationship with the business through a Partner Market agreement, and building on our significant shared service operations in Egypt, known as VOIS.”