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Safaricom has announced that it has completed the full acquisition of M-Pesa Holding Company Ltd from Vodafone, a process which started in April.

In a statement, the giant telco revealed it had acquired 100 per cent of M-Pesa Holding Company Ltd from Vodafone, making the mobile money product a fully-owned subsidiary of Safaricom.

“The Board of Directors of Safaricom PLC is pleased to notify the public of the completion of the acquisition by Safaricom of the entire issued share capital of M-Pesa Holding Co. Limited from Vodafone International Holdings BV,” the statement read in part.

“On 17th April 2023, Safaricom entered into a share purchase agreement with Vodafone International Holdings for the transfer of one hundred per cent (100%) shareholding in M-PESA Holding Co. Limited (M-Pesa Holding) from Vodafone BV to Safaricom.”

About M-Pesa Holding

M-Pesa Holding is the corporate trustee responsible for holding M-Pesa customer funds under the M-Pesa trust arrangement.

“Completion of the Transaction was subject to the satisfaction of conditions that are customary for transactions of this nature, including obtaining approval from shareholders and relevant regulators, all of which have been duly satisfied and all regulatory approvals obtained,” added the telco.

Post completion, M-Pesa Holding will continue to act as the corporate trustee of the M-Pesa trust funds.

M-Pesa was established on March 6, 2007, by Vodafone’s Kenyan associate, Safaricom, and is Africa’s leading mobile money present in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Since its inception, M-Pesa has evolved from a person-to-person cash transfer platform to offer payments and credit.