The operator of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Etisalat, has just acquired 9.8% of the shares of the British telecom Vodafone for 4,400 million dollars. In this sense, Etisalat has stated in a document published on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange that it has acquired approximately 2,766 million of Vodafone’s shares.
Given this, Vodafone has indicated in a statement that the company hopes to ” build a long-term relationship with Etisalat . ” In addition, he has guaranteed that he will support the company in the direction of the British firm and its business plan and will not seek representation on the board of directors.
On the other hand, Vodafone has revealed that, at the moment, it does not plan to make an offer for the rest of the company or “exercise control or influence the board and the management team” .
For his part, the CEO of Etisalat, Hatem Dowidar , has indicated in a statement that “we want to build a mutually beneficial strategic collaboration with Vodafone, with the aim of promoting value creation in both companies, exploring opportunities in the rapidly changing global market of telecommunications and support the adoption of a new generation of technologies. In addition, the UAE company has indicated that the objective of the operation is “to achieve significant exposure in a world leader in connectivity and digital services”.
VODAFONE UNDER PRESSURE
Finally, a very decisive aspect of this event is that the purchase has taken place at a time when Vodafone is facing pressure from the activist investor Cevian Capital AB . This is because the investor has asked Vodafone to simplify its business and look for other ways to improve returns. Faced with this situation, the company is in talks to combine its UK operations with rival operator Three UK, owned by CK Hutchison .