The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the proposal of French billionaire Xavier Niel to acquire a 16.2% stake in Vodafone Group Plc, news agency PTI reported.
Niel, the founder of the telecom firm Iliad, is set to acquire the stake via his family investment vehicle Vega SAS, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maya SAS, a simplified stock firm incorporated under French law.
The competition watchdog, in a release on Friday, said that the proposed combination envisages acquisition of 16.2% of the issued share capital in Vodafone Group Plc by Vega SAS, PTI reported.
Vega SAS does not have business presence or activity in India, while Vodafone has fixed and mobile services via Vodafone India in India.
The UK-based Vodafone Group is an African and European telecommunications firm. CCI said it has approved the proposed deal, and also mentioned the same in a post on X.
In July, Vega had announced that it had entered a binding agreement with Emirates Telecommunications Group Co PJSC to acquire around 16.2% stake in Vodafone Group Plc for a total cash consideration of around £4.4 billion.
Vega was established just to hold shares in Vodafone and would become its largest shareholder post the transaction closes.
In recent years, Vodafone has restructured its business as it sold its Italian and Spanish operations and 50% stake in its Dutch joint venture and also merged with Three to create the largest mobile operator in the UK. Deals beyond a certain threshold need approval from the requlator, which keeps a watch on unfair business practices and promotes fair competition in the marketplace.
With inputs from PTI
CCI clears French billionaire’s proposal to acquire 16% stake in Vodafone Group: Report