Vodafone Group Plc shares climbed a further 4% on Monday, extending Friday’s 12.6% rally after French billionaire Xavier Niel’s family investment vehicle, Vega, agreed to acquire Abu Dhabi-based e& Group’s entire 16.2% stake in the British telecommunications company.
The transaction will make Vega, which is wholly owned by the Niel family group, Vodafone’s largest shareholder after purchasing 3.94 billion shares.
The deal values the stake at approximately $5.95 billion and gives Vega 16.2% of Vodafone’s share capital and 17.1% of its voting rights.
Under the agreement, Vega will pay the equivalent of 112.5 pence per share, comprising around 110.5 pence in cash and Vodafone’s final financial year 2026 dividend of 2.02 pence per share, which shareholders are due to receive on 30 July. The offer represents a premium of roughly 15% to Vodafone’s closing share price on 9 July.
Despite becoming the company’s largest shareholder, Vega said it has no intention of making a full takeover bid for Vodafone.
The sale also marks the end of e& Group’s strategic influence within Vodafone. As part of the transaction, e& terminated its Relationship Agreement with the telecoms company, while its representative resigned from Vodafone’s board.
Barclays described the development as “broadly positive for Vodafone”, saying it effectively ends e&’s attempts to influence the company’s strategic direction. However, the bank noted that investors will now be focused on Vega’s longer-term ambitions and whether its sizeable holding could eventually lead to deeper strategic involvement in the business.
Barclays, which maintains an “Equal Weight” rating on Vodafone with a 110 pence price target, said the key issue for investors is how Xavier Niel intends to use his new position as the company’s largest shareholder.
Morgan Stanley echoed those views, highlighting questions over the extent to which Niel and his management team, led by chief executive Thomas Reynaud, could become involved in Vodafone’s operations and management.
The investment bank pointed in particular to Germany, Vodafone’s largest market, where the company has consistently underperformed operationally and financially compared with market leader Deutsche Telekom.
Morgan Stanley, which also rates Vodafone “Equal Weight” with a 105 pence price target, added that there is very limited overlap between Vodafone’s operations and Niel’s existing telecommunications interests across France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Ireland and Sweden.
Barclays further noted that Niel’s Atlas investment vehicle had previously held a 2.5% stake in Vodafone, making the latest acquisition a significant expansion of the French entrepreneur’s investment in the UK telecoms group.
