UAE’s e& discusses board changes in Vodafone

UAE telecommunications group e& is in discussions with British telecoms company Vodafone regarding the composition of its board of directors, as its largest shareholder after increasing its share to 14.6 percent of Vodafone, Bloomberg reported citing a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The company began talks on April 12 to include non-executive board members in order to engage on a variety of issues in Vodafone, according to a late disclosure on Monday.

Vodafone shares have been steadily declining for years and the company is struggling to satisfy investors with attempts to streamline business and sell assets.

Vodafone rose 0.9 percent to 90.50 pence at 8:08 a.m. in London trading on Tuesday. Shares have fallen about 25 percent since Abu Dhabi-based “e&” announced the acquisition of a stake in May.

The group, formerly known as Etisalat and rebranded e&, has been gradually increasing its stake in Vodafone since May last year, when it acquired 9.8 per cent for around $4.4bn.