e& formerly known as Etisalat following a series of investments in the Vodafone company has increased the stake to 14.6 percent giving e& a say in the board matters.
Yesterday, 11th of May, at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) e& revealed that this was a part of forming a strategic relationship that will give the two operators opportunities to get closer in certain fields of their business.
Hatem Dowidar Will Be Representing e& On The Board
As per the legal agreement, Hatem Dowidar, the current group chief executive officer will be joining the Vodafone board as a non-executive director for as long as e& is willing to maintain its current stakes of 14.6 percent.
In a situation where the shareholding exceeds 20 percent e& will have the authority to nominate another independent board candidate.
Dowidar said that their investment in Vodafone is anchored by the group’s leading position around the globe and its reputation as an industry giant. In return for giving them a seat on the board e& has agreed not to increase the stake by more than 24.99 percent.
This clause put an end to the talk that e& are planning on taking over the Vodafone group, provided that in the UK a mandatory takeover bid is set at 30 percent.
e&’s stakebuilding began on 2022 May. The increasing struggles the Vodaphone group was facing in the German market, and their increasing pressure to improve performance also paved the way for e&’s new development in the group.
Dowidar added that this move from the e& aligns with its aim to be a global telecom and technology player.
The CEO of Vodafone group Margherita Della Valle said in a statement that they know e& so well and that they are more than happy to reinforce their existing relationship with this strategic partnership. She believes that this closer alignment will be allowing them to seize new opportunities in their respective markets and also add additional telecom experiences to their board.
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With this new partnership e& and Vodafone have agreed to work together in several sectors. With the carrier, wholesale, and roaming side, both operators will corporate to become partners of choice for offering connectivity of the highest quality. Vodafone and e& have come to mutual terms for the matters related to procuring, and will try to explore the chances of joint procurement.
Both companies also target to work together on a technology roadmap that comprises the evolution and adoption of Open RAN.
The companies agree to jointly provide cross-border services, which consist of fixed and mobile connectivity, private cellular networks, cloud services IoT, and cyber security to both public sector organizations and multinationals.
This might be one of the most important areas of partnership considering Vodafone’s and e&’s respective operating footprint. e& does not function network in Europe, so this collab would give them a chance to strengthen the enterprise in that area. And both of these companies do not overlap much in the Middle East and African regions, which again is a golden opportunity for both these companies to grow their sales in adjacent markets.