Econet Wireless Limited (EWL) announced on Thursday it has submitted its statement of claim that will be used by the Nigerian courts to assess damages if the court finds in favour of EWL in the case against Vodacom for inducement of breach of contract. The case is scheduled to start in the Nigerian courts next Tuesday.
“The Nigerian High Court asked us to provide a statement of claim and we have submitted [the] statement on a month-by-month basis. The level of the claim will depend on whether on not EWL is restored to its contractual position and when that happens. If EWL loses its investment completely then the judge could grant damages well over $1,5-billion,” EWL chief executive Strive Masiyiwa said.
EWL launched a court action against Vodacom South Africa in October this year when it became clear it had continued negotiations and subsequently made an offer to purchase a controlling stake in Econett Wireless Nigeria (EWN). The offer was made despite Vodacom South Africa knowing of the pre-existing contract between EWN and EWL, according to EWL.
“When EWN accepted the Vodacom offer we were left with no choice but to take action against Vodacom because it was as a result of their offer that EWN chose to disregard the existence of the agreement with my company,” Masiyiwa said.
Masiyiwa also announced that Econet Wireless International, which had a management contract with EWN, has asked the Law Society of England to appoint arbitrators to hear the case regarding the breach of the conditions of that management contract.
“We have taken this matter to international arbitration because we consider the breach of contract to be so serious,” Masiyiwa said.
“Not only did EWN terminate the contract without the required period of notice but they have continued to operate using the intellectual property of my company, which is a direct breach of the terms of agreement.
“To make matters worse our understanding is that the replacement management team in Nigeria are Vodacom employees.”
Masiyiwa concluded by saying: “I do not initiate legal action lightly. The cases that are currently before the courts in both Nigeria and in the international legal arena relate to very serious issues which have caused my company significant financial loss.” — I-Net Bridge