Markets UAE’s telco e& raises stake in UK’s Vodafone to 14% By Pramod Kumar March 1, 2023, 5:38 AM 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.
