VOD - Vodafone Group Public Limited Company
London's FTSE 100 was little changed on Monday as gains in oil majors helped offset weakness in financial shares, leaving investors to weigh the market impact of renewed US-Iran military exchanges. The blue-chip index edged up 0.03% to 10,499.88 points by 0927 GMT, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 slipped 0.1%.
The buyer is French telecom founder and investor Xavier Niel. He'll hold around 16% of the company.
Shares of Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD | VOD Price Prediction) are up 12.7% in Friday midday trading, changing hands near $14.74 after opening from a prior close of $13.08.
U.S. stocks were higher, with the Dow Jones index gaining around 50 points on Friday.
Stocks are looking to close the week out mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) the only pre-market gainer
London's FTSE 100 edged higher on Friday, supported by strong gains in Vodafone and easyJet following major corporate developments. However, renewed tensions in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment, limiting broader market gains.
London's FTSE 100 inched up on Friday, supported by deal-driven gains in Vodafone and easyJet, though Middle East tensions kept a lid on further upside.
Vodafone shares surged nearly 13% on Friday after UAE telecom operator e& agreed to sell its entire stake in the British telecom giant to Vega, an investment vehicle wholly owned by the family group of French billionaire Xavier Niel, in a transaction valued at nearly $6 billion. Under the binding agreement, Vega will acquire e&'s roughly 16.2% stake in Vodafone for about £4.4 billion ($5.91 billion).
The French businessman plans to buy a 16.2% stake in the U.K. telecoms company from Emirates Telecommunications.
French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel has agreed to buy e&'s entire 16.2% stake in Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) for £4.4 billion, a deal that will make him the largest shareholder in the FTSE 100 telecoms group. Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group, has entered a binding agreement with the Abu Dhabi operator to acquire its 3.9 billion shares at £1.104792 each.
UAE telecoms operator E& Group said on Friday it would sell its entire stake in Vodafone to a company owned by the family group of French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel for $5.95 billion.
UBS has flagged mounting pressure on UK retail broadband pricing from proposed cuts to wholesale charges, reinforcing 'sell' ratings on both BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) and Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD). The bank published its quarterly review of UK broadband and mobile pricing, describing a market that remains intensely competitive.
European telecom stocks like BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) have been caught up in growing fears over the threat posed by satellite broadband, but UBS believes the market has become too pessimistic, arguing that the financial impact on the sector is likely to be limited for several years. Analyst Dhruva Kusa Shah said the recent sell-off reflected concerns that low-Earth orbit satellite operators, led by SpaceX's (NASDAQ:SPCX) Starlink, could erode the dominance of traditional fixed-line and mobile networks.
The chief executive of Vodafone urged European governments to speed up regulatory changes to allow mobile phone groups to develop the scale to drive the investment needed to keep up with the United States and Asia.
Deutsche Bank sees roughly 30% upside in Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD), arguing the telecoms giant is moving past some of its biggest strategic flashpoints even as Germany continues to weigh on the investment case. The broker reiterated its Buy rating, while trimming its price target to 150p from 155p.
Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) is exploring a merger of its Greek fibre network with that of regional utility giant PPC Group in a move that would create one of the country's largest wholesale broadband infrastructure providers. Vodafone Greece and PPC have signed heads of terms for a proposed 50:50 joint venture that would combine their respective fibre-to-the-home networks and wholesale fibre businesses, with the two networks currently serving more than 1.6 million homes combined.
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Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) and J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) led the FTSE 100 fallers on Thursday after their shares went ex-dividend. The index was hit by a 3.5-point drag from five companies' shares trading ex-div.
AstraZeneca's IMFINZIÂ (durvalumab) in combination with Bacillus Calmette-GuÃrin (BCG) induction and maintenance therapy has been approved in the US for the
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