NON-EUROPEAN BUSINESSES
Vodacom slides on fears its parent will sell assets
Vodacom’s shares have retreated 7% in just two trading days, partly on speculation that the mobile operator’s British parent, Vodafone, could be coerced into selling non-European assets. The stock fell from R140.25 at the close of trade on Tuesday to R130.20 by Thursday’s close. The share decline was due to profit taking in the wake of Vodacom’s recent share rally, "and speculation that an activist investor into Vodafone could push them to sell non-European assets", said Mergence Investment Managers portfolio manager Peter Takaendesa. But Takaendesa said he expected Vodafone to hang on to its South African unit, which was "actually performing better than most of their other assets".
Vodacom has pared recent gains after the stock rallied nearly 12% in the five trading days following its quarterly trading update on July 24. Its service revenues, excluding currency movements, grew 5.2% year on year in the three months ended June, down from 5.9% growth a year before. According to ...
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