Johannesburg - South Africa’s biggest mobile network Vodacom [JSE:VOD] has listed its YeboYethu ordinary shares on the JSE’s black economic empowerment (BEE) segment.
The mobile network said the scheme enables shareholders to “buy and sell YeboYethu shares in a regulated environment on the JSE”.
The move also follows a Financial Services Board (FSB) directive that requires companies to shift their over-the-counter BEE share trading to licensed stock exchanges.
“Regulatory certainty aside, one of the major advantages of this move is an anticipated increase in liquidity, which can only be positive for buyers and sellers alike,” said Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub in a statement.
“Being listed on the JSE also means that YeboYethu shareholders will have wider and easier access to professional broking services offered by JSE Members,” said Joosub.
Investors are able to buy the YeboYethu shares from Tuesday, August 11, said Vodacom.
YeboYethu history
YeboYethu was established in 2008 and Vodacom had issued 14.4 million YeboYethu Ordinary Shares at R25 each.
“As a result of the public offer, approximately 102 000 qualifying black investors bought a stake in Vodacom SA,” said Vodacom in a statement.
“At the time of implementation of the Vodacom SA BEE Transaction, valued at R7.5bn, it was one of the largest empowerment schemes in the telecommunications industry, resulting in YeboYethu owning up to 3.44% of Vodacom SA,” added Vodacom.Vodacom also said that, to date, just over 14 million YeboYethu shares have been owned by about 87 534 black investors.
Between February 2014 and July 2016, these shares then changed hands on the YeboYethu OTC (over-the-counter) trading platform while the closing pricing on the OTC trading platform on Friday, July 15 2016 was R53.01 per share.
JSE advantages
Moving to the JSE’s BEE segment is expected to have certain benefits for the YeboYethu shareholders, said Vodacom.These advantages are expected to include easier price discovery and greater investor protection owing to the likes of the JSE’s regulated market, said Vodacom.Vodacom is South Africa’s biggest mobile network with over 30 million subscribers.