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e& becomes cornerstone investor in Vodafone

Telcos form strategic relationship across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

e& and Vodafone Group Plc have agreed to a strategic relationship that will bring the two operators closer together in certain aspects of their businesses.

As part of this relationship, e& and Vodafone have entered into a relationship agreement that establishes e& as a cornerstone shareholder of Vodafone. This is the next phase in a strategic relationship that began in May 2022, when e& made its original investment in Vodafone.

The strategic relationship also enables collaboration across a broad range of growth areas, as e& and Vodafone may be able to benefit from each other’s respective operational scale and complementary geographic footprint.

In enterprise, e& and Vodafone will explore jointly offering cross-border digital services and solutions to multi-national customers and public sector organisations. Services will include fixed and mobile connectivity, Mobile Private Networks, IoT, cybersecurity, and cloud-based services.

In procurement, e& and Vodafone will seek to share best practices and may adopt joint procurement.

In carrier, wholesale and roaming, the two operators will work together to become the partner of choice in providing access to high-quality digital infrastructure.

In technology, both teams will seek to work together on a technology roadmap, including the evolution and adoption of OpenRAN.

Under the terms of the relationship agreement, the group chief executive officer of e&, will join the Vodafone board as a non-executive director, for as long as e& maintains its current shareholding of 14.6 per cent. e& will also have the ability to nominate a second non-executive Director (the “Independent Nominee”), independent of e&, if its shareholding exceeds 20 per cent (subject to certain adjustments while regulatory approvals are outstanding). These appointments are subject to receipt by e& of the required regulatory approvals.

Hatem Dowidar, group chief executive officer of e&, said: “Our investment in Vodafone is anchored by Vodafone Group’s established position and worldwide reputation as a prominent industry player that provides cutting-edge connectivity and digital services. This aligns with e&’s vision of becoming a global telecom and technology player.”

“We extend a warm welcome to Margherita Della Valle as Vodafone’s newly appointed group chief executive officer, and we have full confidence in her leadership abilities to steer the company toward growth. We are convinced that our strategic relationship will unlock opportunities for both companies to explore the swiftly expanding global telecom market and next-generation technologies.”

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone group chief executive, said: “We know e& well, and I’m delighted we will strengthen our existing relationship through this strategic relationship. This will allow us to capture efficiency-enhancing opportunities in our respective markets and brings additional telecoms experience to our Board.”