French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel is to become the largest shareholder in Vodafone, the group behind the UK’s biggest mobile network, after agreeing a £4.4 billion deal to buy out Emirati giant e&’s entire stake.
Niel, the largest private investor in Europe’s telecoms sector, will acquire the 16.2 per cent shareholding, which carries 17.13 per cent of Vodafone’s voting rights, through Vega, a newly created acquisition vehicle. e&, formerly known as Etisalat, will receive £1.11 per share, with ownership expected to transfer by the end of the year.
For the millions of UK businesses that rely on Vodafone for mobile and broadband connectivity, the arrival of a new anchor investor is more than a City curiosity. Niel’s family group runs telecoms businesses across 26 countries in Europe and Latin America, with 139 million subscribers, 45,000 employees and €24 billion in annual revenues. Its assets include iliad, Salt, Monaco Telecom, Eir, Tele2 and Millicom.
He is also one of Europe’s most active technology backers, having ploughed approximately €4 billion into European AI projects since 2022, alongside a longer record of supporting education and entrepreneurship platforms including School 42, Station F, Hectar and Kima Ventures.
Vega has stressed the investment is intended as a long-term, strategic minority shareholding rather than a prelude to a takeover.
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