French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel has become Vodafone's largest shareholder after buying a 16% stake for £4.4bn through his family investment vehicle, Vega. The shares were acquired from the Emirati group e&, which sold its entire holding at 112.5p a share, and Niel paid a 15% premium to Vodafone's Thursday closing price. The move matters because Niel, who founded Iliad and has a record as an activist investor, has signalled long-term ambitions for the company at a time when Vodafone is emerging from a major restructuring, and Vodafone's shares jumped 12% on Friday.

Niel described the newly streamlined Vodafone — which has sold its Italian and Spanish operations and its Dutch joint-venture stake, and merged with Three to form the UK's largest mobile operator — as a "compelling investment opportunity" with untapped value across Europe and Africa. He does not currently hold a board seat and his spokesperson stressed the deal carried no governance package, though analysts expect him to seek engagement over time. Citi analyst Carl Murdock-Smith noted that after Niel became Tele2's biggest shareholder in 2024, the Swedish firm announced a 15% workforce cut, prompting speculation about similar pressure at Vodafone. Niel is estimated by Forbes to be worth $15.5bn (£11.5bn) and his partner is Delphine Arnault, daughter of LVMH's Bernard Arnault.