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e& is unwinding its Vodafone wager: Abu Dhabi telecom group e& signed a binding agreement to sell its full Vodafone stake to Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel’s family group, according to a filing to the ADX (pdf). e& says the move follows a comprehensive review of its international portfolio, ending a four-year run as one of the company’s largest shareholders.
BACKGROUND- e& paid USD 4.4 bn for an initial 10% stake in May 2022, framing it as a way to gain “significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services at an attractive valuation.” It gradually increased its stake in the telco to 16%, becoming Vodafone’s single largest shareholder along the way. The pace drew scrutiny from UK regulators at the time, given Vodafone’s role in UK critical infrastructure. The two firms signed a relationship agreement in May 2023 — which has now been terminated — formalizing e& as a cornerstone shareholder with a board seat. e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar took that non-executive seat in February 2024 and has now stepped down.
The numbers: The transaction will generate around AED 21.8 bn (USD 5.95 bn) in proceeds, including Vodafone’s final FY 26 dividend. Of that, e& is disclosing a net return of around AED 4.7 bn (USD 1.3 bn) — the gain over what it originally spent building the position.
The goodbye math: Vega is paying GBP 1.125 per share — a 13% premium to Vodafone’s market price, per e& — split between GBP 1.105 from the buyer and Vodafone’s GBP 0.0202 final FY 26 dividend, due 30 July. The shares move first via off-market block trades to three financial institutions, which will hold them until Vega clears regulatory approvals. Vega expects full settlement by year-end.
The move is part of a broader reshuffle: e& recently agreed to sell a 12.5% stake in Careem Technologies back to Uber, creating a future exit ramp for its remaining holding. But it’s still doubling down elsewhere: its European subsidiary O2 Slovakia JV acquired broadband operator UPC Slovakia in May; it recently launched a wholesale connectivity hub in Miami and backed US payments security firm MagicCube; and it has been advancing data-center talks in Uzbekistan.
The question now is where e& deploys the proceeds. The Vodafone exit gives the group a cleaner investment map — and more room to fund the parts of the portfolio it appears to be leaning into: infrastructure, enterprise tech, fintech, and AI.
