India Approves Vega Deal to Acquire 16.2% Stake in Vodafone
Key Facts
India’s Competition Commission has approved Vega SAS’s acquisition of 16.2% of Vodafone Group’s issued share capital, according to a statement dated October 30, 2026. The approval marks a regulatory step in the sale of e&’s stake to Vega, the company linked to French billionaire Xavier Niel. Reuters reported when the agreement was announced in July that the binding deal valued the stake at about 4.4 billion pounds sterling, or 5.91 billion dollars. The agency estimated the premium at about 13% compared with Vodafone’s closing price on the day before the announcement. The Indian approval alone does not mean the transfer of the stake is complete, as other regulatory approvals remained in focus after the agreement.
According to Reuters, Vega said the deal was a direct purchase of e&’s stake and did not involve governance arrangements. It added that the immediate focus was on securing the necessary regulatory approvals, including foreign investment clearances. Competition Commission data show that Vega is a holding company wholly owned by France’s Maya SAS. The commission also said Vega itself has no commercial activity or presence in India. Vodafone’s presence in the Indian market is through Vodafone Idea Limited, according to the same statement.
e& began its investment in Vodafone by buying an initial 9.8% stake in 2022 for 4.4 billion dollars, then gradually increased its ownership before agreeing to sell it, according to Reuters. The sale ends the UAE group’s investment in the British telecom operator, while giving Niel a major stake in the group. The market reaction was swift when the deal was announced: Vodafone shares rose 12% to a high of 110 pence in early trading on July 10, while e& shares gained about 4.5% at the time of Reuters’ report. Vodafone shares closed at 119.1 pence on October 30, according to EL7 data. That closing price compares with the deal price announced in July, which Reuters described as including a premium to the close on the day before the announcement.
The deal comes as Vodafone reshapes its geographic and operational portfolio. Reuters said the group exited Spain and Italy and focused its business on Germany, Britain and Africa. It also completed the merger of Vodafone UK with Three UK on May 31, 2025, creating Britain’s largest mobile operator. The company said the combined business would invest 11 billion pounds sterling in the network over the following ten years, targeting annual cost and capital expenditure savings of 700 million pounds by the fifth year. Niel told Reuters that Vodafone, with its business now simpler and more focused, was "poised for a new phase of growth."
Vodafone’s results point to an improvement in operating indicators in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, with organic service revenue rising 5.2% and organic adjusted operating profit increasing 6.2%. The chief executive said the company had made a "good start" to the year, attributing profit growth to higher revenue alongside a new phase of cost-cutting initiatives announced in May. In its fiscal 2026 results, the chief executive said a three-year transformation had made the company simpler and better positioned for medium-term growth. This background is consistent with Niel’s description of the company as more focused, but remains part of the restructuring path Vodafone presented to investors. Completion of the stake sale remains subject to securing regulatory approvals, including the foreign investment clearances cited by Vega.