India's Competition Regulator Clears Niel's Vodafone Stake
India's competition regulator on Friday approved French billionaire Xavier Niel's purchase of a 16.2% stake in Vodafone Group. Niel's vehicle is expected to become Vodafone's largest shareholder once the sale completes.
The deal
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposal, news agency PTI reported. The deal is valued at around €5.1 billion. The buyer is Vega SAS, Niel's family investment vehicle. The seller is Emirates Telecommunications Group.
When the sale completes, Vega SAS is expected to become Vodafone's single largest shareholder, according to the PTI report. Niel founded the French telecom company Iliad. Vega SAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maya SAS, a company incorporated under French law.
The CCI said in a post on X that it had approved the acquisition of 16.2% of Vodafone Group's issued share capital. The stake sale was announced in July, when Vega SAS said it had signed a binding arrangement with Emirates Telecommunications Group.
Why India has a say
Vega SAS has no direct business operations in India. The deal still needed the regulator's review because Vodafone is present in the Indian telecom market. It operates there through its joint venture, Vodafone Idea Ltd.
The regulator examines deals above set financial thresholds, checking that they do not hurt competition and stopping unfair business practices.
A company that keeps reshaping itself
Vodafone Group operates across Europe and Africa. In recent years it has sold its businesses in Italy and Spain, divested its 50% stake in a Dutch joint venture, and merged with Three to create the UK's largest mobile operator.
Three other approvals
The CCI cleared three other transactions the same day, according to the report. Aditya Birla Renewables will acquire Solenergi Power from Shell Overseas Investment BV. Solenergi is incorporated in Mauritius and holds strategic interests in several solar and wind power generation companies in India.
The regulator also approved Adani Energy Solutions' plan to take full ownership of IntelliSmart Infrastructure by buying it from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.
Adani Energy Solutions and IntelliSmart both work in advanced metering infrastructure, and IntelliSmart also deploys smart gas meters. The report attributes the details of these two deals to Business Standard.
Our view
An Indian clearance for a stake in a UK-based group shows how far merger review reaches when a target has local assets. It may be one of several approvals the buyer needs, and the report does not say which remain. Whether a single large holder changes how Vodafone is run is not addressed. That is worth following once the sale completes.
Source: mint