UAE telecoms group e& buys 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 bln

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DUBAI – Emirates Telecom Group company PJSC, now known as E&E, has acquired a 9.8% stake in Vodafone for $4.4 billion, it said on Saturday.

The move comes days after E&A’s said it wants to expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and Asia, and areas outside telecommunications such as fintech as it seeks to spur growth.

Vodafone, like all mobile operators, is struggling in its more mature markets, where competition and regulation have driven prices down.

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Net debt in the group has reached 44.3 billion euros ($46.1 billion), and its share price has fallen by more than 20% since its chief executive Nick Reed took over in 2018 to simplify and There is pressure to improve returns.

Vodafone said it looks forward to building a long-term relationship with UAE-based E&E.

“We continue to make good progress with our long-term strategic plans and will provide an update on May 17 in the announcement of our FY22 results,” it said in a statement.

E&S said it had made the investment to achieve “significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services”.

It said it had no intention of offering to buy Vodafone, adding that it fully supports the company’s current business strategy and its board and current management team.

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“We see this investment as a great opportunity for E&&&C’s shareholders as it will allow us to grow and grow our international portfolio in line with our strategic ambition,” said CEO Hatem Dovidar.

The UAE firm recently split its business into consumer services-focused E&Life, E&Enterprise, which provides digital services to government and business, and telecommunications arm Etisalat, whose CEO said the world by market capitalization. is the seventh largest.

($1 = 0.9605 Euro) (Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in Dubai; Additional reporting by Kate Holton and Michael Holden in London; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jan Harvey)