Vodafone shares jump as French telecoms tycoon becomes top shareholder Telecoms Vodafone shares surged almost 11 per cent on Friday after French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel bought a £4.4bn stake in the FTSE 100 group from UAE-backed e& and became its largest shareholder. The deal will see Niel’s investment vehicle, Vega, acquire e&‘s entire 16.2 per cent stake for 112.5p a share – a 15 per [...]
LSE draws up ‘worst case scenario’ US listing flight risk Markets As many as 20 FTSE 100-listed companies may move direct listings to New York, leaving a £2bn gap in the Treasury’s earnings from stamp duty on share trades. This includes blue-chip companies HSBC, London Stock Exchange’s largest firm, telecoms companies BT and Vodafone, and drinks giant Diageo which owns a global portfolio of well known [...]
VodafoneThree enters race for TalkTalk customers with takeover bid Telecoms Vodafone has tabled a bid for TalkTalk’s consumer broadband business, joining a crowded auction as the UK’s largest mobile operator pushes into the home internet market. The FTSE 100 telecoms giant has emerged as a late entrant into the sale process, after initially declining to participate, the Financial Times first reported. Sources close to the [...]
As it happened: Ministers resign as gilt yields at 28-year high May 12, 2026 The Westminster political drama rocked the bond markets with gilt yields surging to a 28-year high. The yield on 30-year gilts surged 13 basis points on Tuesday to hit 5.8 per cent. It comes as nearly 80 Labour MPs have now called for the resignation of the Prime Minister and reports suggest numerous members of [...]
Vodafone says UK merger is ‘ahead of plan’ as boss bets on mega multi-brand strategy May 12, 2026 Vodafone said it is “building momentum” as the telecoms behemoth pushes further into the British market following its £4.3bn VodafoneThree deal and signs of stabilisation in Germany. The FTSE 100 telecoms group reported better-than-expected annual revenue of €40.4bn (£35bn) for the year to March, up from €37.4bn last year. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit slipped slighty to [...]
Vodafone takes full control of Three in £4.3bn deal May 5, 2026 Vodafone is to take full ownership of Vodafone Three for £4.3bn in the latest twist in the blockbuster merger between two of Britain’s largest mobile networks. The FTSE 100 telecoms giant said it will buy out the 49 per cent stake held by CK Hutchison, the Chinese owner of Three, to give it full control [...]
Vodafone set for £85m court showdown with ex-franchisees March 26, 2026 An £85m court battle between Vodafone and its former franchisees will kick off on Thursday over claims the telecoms giant imposed cuts on franchises which left managers facing closures and bankruptcy. The 62 ex-franchisees pursuing a civil action against Vodafone – recently renamed VodafoneThree – will launch their case at the High Court for the [...]
No retail redundancies after Vodafone-Three merger, boss says ahead of shop closures February 5, 2026 There will be no forced redundancies of retail staff following Vodafone’s acquisition of Three, the firm’s chief executive has said, as the telco giant gears up to find hundreds of millions of pounds of cost savings from the tie-up. Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle, who spearheaded the bumper £16.5bn merger shortly after taking the [...]
Is Microsoft becoming the new Vodafone? December 11, 2025 America’s biggest tech firms – Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google – have thrown the kitchen sink at becoming leaders in AI. They have forked out whatever is necessary to get to the front of the race. The four firms spent a combined $16bn on capex in the first quarter of 2020. Fast-forward to the third quarter [...]
Vodafone chief shakes off Budget gloom as shares jump November 11, 2025 Vodafone’s chief executive has said the forthcoming Budget is “not a big thing for us” after the telco defied wider economic gloom to deliver a dividend hike. The FTSE 100 firm said it saw 1.2 per cent growth in the UK in the six months to the end of September, while Germany, a key market, [...]