Vodafone and Emirates Telecommunications (e&, formerly Etisalat) announced a strategic relationship that establishes e& as a cornerstone shareholder of Vodafone. The deal is the next phase in a strategic relationship that began in May 2022, when e& made its original investment in Vodafone. e& now holds a 14% stake in the company.
The strategic relationship also covers a broad range of growth areas, enabling the companies to benefit from each other's respective operational scale and complementary geographic footprint. The key areas of commercial collaboration that Vodafone and e& will initially pursue include:
- In Enterprise, Vodafone and e& 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, Vodafone and e& will seek to share best practice and may adopt joint procurement.
- In Carrier, Wholesale & 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%. e& will also have the ability to nominate a second non-executive Director, independent of e&, if its shareholding exceeds 20% (subject to certain adjustments while regulatory approvals are outstanding). These appointments are subject to receipt by e& of the required regulatory approvals.
Hatem Dowidar, 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.
