Vodacom Group inched towards closing an acquisition of a majority stake in Vodafone Egypt, with the former’s investors approving the transaction at an extraordinary general meeting.

In a stock market statement, Vodacom announced the result of a shareholder vote on the issue earlier January 18. The operator plans to buy a 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt from parent company Vodafone Group in a deal worth €2.4 billion(US$2.7billion).

The vast majority of remaining shares in Vodafone Egypt are held by state-owned Telecom Egypt.

All that now stands in the way of the completion of the deal are: approval from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt; notification of a potential requirement to make a mandatory offer for additional shares from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority; and the nod from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Vodacom noted competition authorities in Egypt did not need to sign off the buy.

On first announcing the deal Vodafone Group estimated it would close before the end of March.

The sale of the stake in Vodafone Egypt is part of a Vodafone Group strategy to simplify its holdings in Africa, while for Vodacom it expands its number of markets as it seeks to be the leading provider on the continent.

Vodafone Group previously signed a preliminary agreement to offload its stake in the Egyptian business to STC, a deal eventually abandoned due to a series of delays in its completion.