UAE telecommunications company E& announced Friday it has agreed to offload its entire ownership stake in British mobile giant Vodafone to the family investment group of French billionaire Xavier Niel in a deal worth $5.95 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vodafone shares are valued at 112.5 pence each — representing a 15% premium above the stock’s most recent closing price of 97.76 pence. E& said the transaction is expected to generate a net cash return of roughly $1.3 billion for the company.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered firm said its choice to exit the Vodafone investment reflected what it described as the “natural evolution” of its business strategy, aimed at sharpening its focus on core operations while freeing up capital from the sale.
Niel is the founder and owner of French telecommunications company Iliad. Iliad Group had not responded to a request for comment at the time of reporting.
According to E&, the shares will be transferred through off-market block trades to three financial institutions simultaneously. Those institutions will hold the shares until the Niel family group’s acquisition vehicle has satisfied all required regulatory approvals.
E& also confirmed it would no longer seek to play any role in shaping Vodafone’s board decisions or management direction. The company’s representative on Vodafone’s board has already stepped down from the non-executive director position.
Vodafone had not issued any public statement regarding the stake sale at the time of this report.
