Vodafone to buy majority share in Ghana Telecom

British mobile phone giant Vodafone said on Thursday it had agreed to buy a 70-percent stake in Ghana Telecommunications for 452 million pounds (566 million euros, 900 million dollars).
Vodafone said in a statement that it would buy the majority stake from the government of Ghana, which will retain a 30-percent holding.
The deal for Ghana's leading fixed line operator values the entire company at 1.3 billion dollars and was expected to complete in the third quarter.
Ghana Telecom is the west African country's third largest mobile phone group with 1.4 million customers or 17 percent of the market.
“Ghana is one of the most attractive markets in Africa with mobile subscribers growing at more than 55 percent per year and mobile penetration around 35 percent," Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin said in the release.