Banking & Finance UAE telco buys more Vodafone shares to up stake to 13% By Pramod Kumar February 3, 2023, 6:42 AM Unsplash.com e& has purchased a total of 3.537bn shares UAE telecom operator e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, has upped its stake in the UK’s Vodafone Group for the second time this year. In a statement published on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the telco said it had purchased a total of 3.537 billion shares, representing 13 percent of Vodafone’s issued share capital, excluding treasury shares. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. “The investment rationale is unchanged from our announcement on May 14, 2022,” the statement said. In May last year, e& acquired a 9.8 percent stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion, days after it announced plans to expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and Asia. Earlier this month, the telco increased its stake to 12 percent, stating the stock offered an “attractive valuation”. According to e&, the move is to obtain significant exposure to a global leader, leverage potential commercial partnerships and realise a future return on its investment. The UAE-based telecom firm has previously said it has no intentions of making an offer to buy Vodafone, adding it fully supports the company’s current business strategy and its board and existing management team.
