The UAE telecommunications behemoth e& Group (Etisalat and) disclosed on Friday that it has finalized a deal to sell its entire 16.21% shareholding in the UK's Vodafone Group PLC for $5.95 billion, concluding a strategic investment spanning over four years. The purchaser is Vega, an investment vehicle controlled by the family of French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel. Upon completion, Vega will become the largest shareholder in Vodafone.
The agreement entails the sale of approximately 3.945 billion shares in Vodafone held by e& for a total consideration of 112.5 pence per share. This price represents a premium of roughly 13% to 15% over Vodafone's previous day's closing price of 97.76 pence. The total per-share consideration comprises 110.5 pence in cash paid by the buyer, plus a 2.02 pence per share final dividend for Vodafone's 2026 fiscal year, scheduled for payment on July 30th.
The transaction will be executed via an off-market block trade, with the shares simultaneously transferred to three financial institutions. These institutions will hold the shares on behalf of Vega until it secures all necessary regulatory approvals. The sale is anticipated to generate approximately 21.8 billion UAE dirhams (equivalent to $5.95 billion) in cash proceeds for e&, resulting in a net cash return of around $1.3 billion.
Concurrent with the share sale, the relationship agreement established between the two parties in 2023 has been terminated. Hatem Dowidar, e&'s representative on the Vodafone board, has resigned from his non-executive director position. Consequently, e& will no longer exert influence over Vodafone. e& stated that this move aligns with its strategy of actively managing its investment portfolio and optimizing capital allocation, allowing it to sharpen its focus on core business operations.
Niel, the founder of French telecom operator Iliad, has extensive telecom operations across nine European countries. Vega emphasized that this investment constitutes a long-term strategic minority stakeholding and that it has no intention of launching a full takeover bid for Vodafone. Following the transaction's completion, the existing cooperation between e& and Vodafone in areas such as procurement and technology will continue.
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