The UAE’s biggest telecoms operator, e&, formerly known as Etisalat, has increased its stake in British company Vodafone Group to 13 per cent as part of its international diversification strategy.
The Abu Dhabi-based company now owns an aggregate 3,537.7 million shares in the UK operator, with the transaction executed on Thursday, e& said on Friday in a regulatory filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
"The investment rationale is unchanged from our announcement on May 14, 2022," e& said.
The UAE company first acquired about 2.76 billion shares, or a 9.8 per cent stake in Vodafone, for $4.4 billion in May, before increasing its shareholding to 11 per cent in early December.
Last month, it raised its stake to 12 per cent as part of efforts to "obtain significant exposure to a global leader, and leverage potential commercial partnership and realise future return on our investment”.
E& is embarking on a strategy of acquiring assets of telecoms companies abroad to broaden its revenue base.
It is pursuing a two-pronged strategy of expanding its telecoms asset base, plus integrating emerging technologies and supporting the rapidly expanding start-up community, chief executive Hatem Dowidar told The National at last year's Gitex Global.
The telecoms industry is going through a major transformation, especially with the advent of new technologies that operators are trying to integrate into their operations to add new revenue lines as competition intensifies.
Etisalat, which rebranded as e& in February last year, is in the process of transforming itself into a global technology investment conglomerate.
The company, which currently has operations in 16 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia serving more than 156 million customers, has expanded abroad and solidified its stakes in overseas markets in recent quarters.
In December, e& signed a joint venture agreement with South Korea's Bespin Global to set up a business that will provide public cloud services in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan. The two companies each contributed $10 million in initial capital.
In October, e& launched a $250 million venture capital fund as part of its new investment unit, e& capital, to support the technology start-up ecosystem.
In the same month, e& enterprise completed the 100 per cent acquisition of Smartworld, a technology solutions provider and systems integrator in the UAE.
In 2021, the company raised its ownership in Etisalat Investment North Africa to 100 per cent, increasing its effective ownership in Morocco's Maroc Telecom Group to 53 per cent, from 48.4 per cent.
Most%20ODI%20hundreds
%3Cp%3E49%20-%20Sachin%20Tendulkar%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E47%20-%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E31%20-%20Rohit%20Sharma%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E30%20-%20Ricky%20Ponting%2C%20Australia%2FICC%0D%3Cbr%3E28%20-%20Sanath%20Jayasuriya%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E27%20-%20Hashim%20Amla%2C%20South%20Africa%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20AB%20de%20Villiers%2C%20South%20Africa%2FAfrica%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20Chris%20Gayle%2C%20West%20Indies%2FICC%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20Kumar%20Sangakkara%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%2FICC%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E22%20-%20Sourav%20Ganguly%2C%20India%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E22%20-%20Tillakaratne%20Dilshan%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The%20Mother%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Niki%20Caro%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jennifer%20Lopez%2C%20Joseph%20Fiennes%2C%20Gael%20Garcia%20Bernal%2C%20Omari%20Hardwick%20and%20Lucy%20Paez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
