Commission européenne, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Bruxelles, BELGIQUE  
Europese Commissie, DG COMP MERGER REGISTRY, 1049 Brussel,   BELGIË  
 
Tel: +32 229- 91111. Fax: +32 229- 64301. E -mail: COMP -MERGER -REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu.  
  EUROPEAN COMMISSION  
Brussels, 14.09.2021  
C(2021) 6770 final  
PUBLIC VERSION 
Vodafone Group Plc  
One Kingdom Street,  
Paddington Central  
W2 6BY London  
United Kingdom  
 
Safaricom Plc  
Safaricom House, Waiyaki Way,  
P.O. Box 66827-00800  
13263 Nairobi  
Kenya  
 
Sumitomo Corporation  
2-3-2 Otemachi, Chiyoda -ku  
100-8601 Tokyo  
Japan  
Subject : Case M. 10244 – VODAFONE GROUP / SAFARICOM / SUMITOMO / 
ETHIOPIA JV  
Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation 
(EC) No  139/20041 and Article  57 of the Agreement on the European 
Economic Area2  
Dear Sir or Madam,  
1. On 23 August 2021, the European Commission received notification of a proposed 
concentration pursuant to Article 4 of the Merger  Regulation by which Vodafone 
Group Limited (“ Vodafone G roup”, United Kingdom ), Safaricom Plc (“Safaricom”, 
Kenya) and Sumitomo Corporation (“Sumitomo”, Japan) intend to acquire, within the 
meaning of Article s 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation, joint control over the 
Global Partnership for Ethiopia B.V. (together with its subsidiaries, the “Ethiopia JV”, 
                                                 
1 OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 ( the ‘Merger Regulation ’). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on 
the Functioning of the European Union ( ‘TFEU ’) has introduced certain changes, such as the 
replacement of ‘ Community ’ by ‘Union’  and ‘common market ’ by ‘internal market ’. The terminology 
of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision.  
2  OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 ( the ‘EEA Agreement ’). 

 
2 Ethiopia). The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly 
created company constituting a joint venture .3 
2. The business activities of the unde rtakings concerned are:  
− for Vodafone Group: a telecommunications group active in Europe and Africa. 
The Vodafone group operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries and 
partners with mobile networks in an additional 48 countries,  
− for Safaricom: a tele communications operator in Kenya, 
− for Sumitomo: a global trading and investment company, conducting business 
activities across a wide range of industr ies in 66 countries and regions,  
− for Ethiopia JV: a newly established joint venture for the purpose of ope rating 
a full telecommunications licence to provide telecommunication services in 
Ethiopia. 
3. After examination of the notification, the European Commission has concluded that 
the notified operation falls within the scope of the Merger  Regulation  and of 
paragraph 5(a ) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of 
certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No  139/2004.4 
4. For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified procedure, the European 
Commission has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it 
compatible with the internal market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is 
adopted in application of Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger  Regulation and Article 57 of 
the EEA Agreement . 
For the Commission  
  
(Signed)  
Olivier GUERSENT  
Director -General  
                                                 
3  Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 348, 30.8.2021, p. 3.  
4  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.