Vodafone heads to London following Xavier Niel’s surprise visit to the capital

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Vodafone soars on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 100 ), following the takeover of a stake in the company by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, who has reached an agreement to acquire the entire stake held by Emirates Telecommunications in the British telecoms group, thereby becoming its largest shareholder.

“Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group, announces that it has entered into a binding agreement with Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) for the acquisition of approximately 16.2 per cent of the share capital of Vodafone Group Plc, one of the leading telecommunications operators in Europe and Africa, for a total cash consideration of approximately £4.4 billion (5.1 billion euros)”, according to a press release. Emirates will sell its entire holding of 3,944,743,685 shares, representing 17.13% of Vodafone’s voting rights, at a price of 1.104792 pounds per share. Emirates will also receive the final dividend of 2.3625 euro cents , which will be paid by Vodafone on 30 July. The shares will be acquired through off-market block trades by certain financial institutions for hedging purposes as part of financial instruments entered into by Vega, which will be subject to physical settlement once the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained. Physical settlement is expected by the end of the year. Vega, established solely for the purpose of holding Vodafone shares, will become Vodafone’s largest shareholder upon completion of the transaction, subject to approval by the relevant authorities, and ‘intends to be a committed long-term shareholder and a supportive partner for Vodafone’, the document adds, clarifying that the vehicle “has no intention of launching a bid for the entire share capital of Vodafone”. Vega will shortly begin discussions with the UK authorities to obtain the necessary authorisations. Vega’s investment in Vodafone will be financed entirely by Xavier Niel and financial institutions, without recourse and without any impact on the leverage of any entity controlled by the Niel family group, the statement adds.

“Vodafone represents an attractive investment opportunity, underpinned by high-quality assets, strong brands, leadership positions and a diversified geographical presence. As a simpler, more focused company, Vodafone is ready for a new phase of growth and is well positioned to unlock substantial untapped value in its European and African businesses,” said Xavier Niel, quoted in the press release, expressing confidence that “Vodafone can achieve sustainable growth and generate strong long-term cash flows, and, as a leading investor based in Europe, we are ready to contribute our in-depth industry experience and our operational know-how to its future success.” The press release highlights that the investments and operations in the telecommunications sector of the group owned by the Xavier Niel family span 26 countries across Europe and Latin America. The group has 139 million subscribers, 45,000 employees, an annual turnover of 24 billion euros and annual EBITDA of over 9 billion euros. Its businesses include Iliad, Salt, Monaco Telecom, Eir, Tele2 and Millicom. Xavier Niel is also “a major investor in the European technology and innovation landscape, with around €4 billion invested since 2022 in European artificial intelligence projects”.