Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE’s telco e& raises stake in UK’s Vodafone to 14%

By Pramod Kumar
Vodafone is among the leading tech companies opening offices in Egypt Vodafone
e& said that the rationale remains unchanged from May 2022 when it purchased a 9.8% stake in Vodafone Group

UAE-based telecom firm e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, has increased its stake in UK’s Vodafone Group to 14 percent.

The Abu Dhabi bourse-listed company purchased a 9.8 percent stake in May 2022 and last month it upped its stake in Vodafone to 13 percent.

The telco maintains that the move is aimed at obtaining significant exposure to a global leader, leverage potential commercial partnerships and realise a future return on its investment.

The 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.

Meanwhile, Reuters said that Vodafone’s shares have fallen 15 percent since e& first invested, as the London-listed group has struggled to improve weak performance in three out of its four biggest European markets, resulting in the departure of its chief executive in December.

Liberty Global this month bought a near five percent stake in Vodafone, describing it as an opportunistic investment and stating it would not seek a board seat or mount a takeover bid.

Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said Vodafone’s share price did not reflect the underlying value of the business and its opportunities for consolidation, the news agency said.

French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel bought a 2.5 percent stake in Vodafone in September. He said he was ready to advise Vodafone’s board on its strategy when Read was replaced on an interim basis by finance director Margherita Della Valle in December.

Latest articles

Alcohol tax in Dubai was suspended in 2023

Dubai to reintroduce 30% alcohol tax

Dubai will reintroduce the 30 percent sales tax on alcohol in January, according to an email sent by a local alcohol distributor to venues in the city.  The correspondence sent by MMI, which also operates off licences in the city, said: “Please note, Dubai Government have informed us the 30 percent municipality tax on alcoholic […]

EDB food wheat farm sharjah

EDB hails $305m in financing for agriculture businesses

One dirham in 12 lent by Emirates Development Bank in the past three years has gone into financing for agriculture technology and food production businesses, the bank said on Thursday. EDB said the AED1.12 billion ($305 million) of loans represent 8 percent of the AED14.72 billion of financing it has provided since April 2021.  It […]

The oil market could now shift focus to the actions of US President-elect Donald Trump

Opec+ delays oil output hike until April

Opec+ on Thursday pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and booming production outside the group. Cuts had been scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 but a slowdown in […]

Animal, Bird, Chicken

Almarai to foray into food segments beyond dairy

Almarai, the largest dairy producer in Saudi Arabia, will launch seafood and red meat facilities to help achieve the Vision 2030 goal of becoming food self-reliant. The company is building domestic production facilities for seafood and beef and lamb, which will become operational in two years, Bloomberg reported, citing CEO Abdullah Albader. In March, Almarai […]