In May 2023, e& announced the formation of a strategic relationship with Vodafone, through which e& will be a cornerstone shareholder of Vodafone and obtain representation on Vodafone’s board of directors.
As part of this strategic relationship, e& and Vodafone have entered into a relationship agreement. This is the next phase in a strategic relationship that began in May 2022, when e& made its original investment in Vodafone. The strategic relationship enables collaboration across a broad range of growth areas, as e& and Vodafone may be able to benefit from each other’s respective operational scale and complementary geographic footprint.
Under the terms of the relationship agreement, the Group Chief Executive Office of e& will join the Vodafone board as a non-executive director, for as long as e& maintains its current shareholding of 14.6 percent. e& will also have the ability to nominate a second non-executive director, independent of e&, if its shareholding exceeds 20 percent (subject to certain adjustments while regulatory approvals are outstanding). These appointments are subject to receipt by e& of the required regulatory approvals. The relationship agreement contains customary standstill and lock-up provisions and has a minimum term of two years.
The S&C team that has been advising e& on the formation of a strategic relationship with Vodafone included John Horsfield-Bradbury, Jeremy Kutner, Vanessa Blackmore, Ben Perry, Richard Pollack, Umberto Hassan, Rebecca Thompson and Prateek Andharia. Juan Rodriguez, Marielena Doeding, and Katharina Leonhardt advised on merger control and foreign direct investment matters.