Stock is low with no CEO
Vodafone Group is enduring a challenging period as its stock is now, there is no sign of a new CEO and predators are circling as it looks under pressure in several areas, most notably in Spain. This week media giant Liberty Global announced it has bought a 4.29% stake in Vodafone Group, spending £1.2bn on 1.335 billion shares. An operator in six European markets Liberty global is already in a joint venture with Vodafone in The Netherlands (VodafoneZiggo), but Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries, said the UK telco’s stock is an opportunistic and financial investment. There are no plans to make a takeover offer for Vodafone or request a seat on the board, reports Telecom TV.
“We believe, like many others, that Vodafone’s current share price does not reflect the underlying long-term value of their operating businesses, or their announced consolidation and infrastructure opportunities,” said Fries in Liberty Global’s statement about the stock purchase. “We continue to remain disciplined about our capital and fully expect that the equity used to fund this investment will be replenished with the sale of certain non-core assets over time.”
In January Mobile Europe reported that Middle East telco giant e& has become its ‘apex shareholder’ with a 12% holding. Another major investor is Iliad maestro Xavier Niel, who bought a 2.5% stake in Vodafone in September via his Atlas Investissement investment vehicle. Vodafone’s share price gained 2% to end Monday at 94 pence on the London Stock Exchange, giving it a market value of about £25bn.
In Spain a bidding war is brewing for Vodafone Spain’s fixed line unit, with multiple bidders kicking tyres as they prepare their billion euro bids for the operator’s broadband vehicles. Spanish business newspaper El Economista was on the scene and reported that Macquarie Capital, which already holds a majority stake in Spanish wholesale fibre access network operator Onivia, and Ardian Infrastructure, which owns rural wholesale fibre access operator Adamo Telecom, are both interested in Vodafone’s assets, which pass 10.5 million premises (7 million with cable broadband lines and 3.5 million with fibre lines) and have been valued at about €4bn. Other bidders, such as infrastructure equity specialist Brookfield, are circling the auction, said the newspaper report. Vodafone Spain has struggled to achieve the necessary weight to compete at this level and last year its attempt to merge with MásMóvil was thwarted by a successful bid from rival Orange. While Vodafone is still seeking a new group CEO it may be regrouping in Spain, said Telecom TV.