UAE telecoms and technology company e& has agreed to sell its entire stake in Vodafone Group for $5.95 billion as it refocuses on its core businesses.
The Abu Dhabi-based company ended its investment in the British telecoms company as it no longer seeks to “exert control or influence” over Vodafone’s board or management team, e& said on Friday.
“Following a comprehensive strategic review of its international investment portfolio, e& Group terminated the relationship agreement with Vodafone and its board representative has stepped down from his position as a non-executive director of Vodafone,” e& said in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The company has signed a binding agreement with Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group, to divest its 16.21 per cent stake in Vodafone – equivalent to around 3.94 billion shares.
E& said it will explore future opportunities with Vodafone to “collaborate in ways that create mutual value”.
Formerly known as the Etisalat Group, e& acquired 2.76 billion shares, or a 9.8 per cent stake, in Vodafone for $4.4 billion in May 2022, before increasing its shareholding to 11 per cent in December of the same year.
In January 2023, e& increased its stake in the British company to 12 per cent, further boosting it to 14 per cent the following month. It later upped its stake to more than 16 per cent.
The latest deal represents a 13 per cent premium to Vodafone’s market price and includes a final 2026 dividend payable later this month, e& said.
“The shares will be sold simultaneously through off-market block trades to three financial institutions who will hold the shares until Vega completes regulatory requirements,” it added.
At the completion of the transfer of the shares to the financial institutions, the transaction is expected to generate proceeds of about Dh21.8 billion ($5.95 billion), including dividends, delivering a net cash return of roughly Dh4.7 billion to e&.
The completion of the deal, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, is expected in the near future, it added.
Exiting the Vodafone stake enables it to “sharpen its strategic focus on core businesses”, e& said.
The move comes shortly after e& sold 12.5 per cent of its stake in Careem Technologies to Uber for $100 million last month, also as part of “increased focus on its core businesses and disciplined capital allocation priorities”.
The ADX-listed company’s revenue increased by about 15 per cent annually to Dh19.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Net profit attributable to shareholders during the period dropped by more than 46 per cent annually to Dh2.88 billion, mainly due to a gain last year from the sale of Khazna. Excluding that, net income rose by 3.9 per cent.
