UAE's e& offers to increase stake in Vodafone to 20% - e& CEO to CNBC Arabia

By Jana Choukeir and Ahmed Elimam

DUBAI (Reuters) - UAE's e& EAND.AD CEO Hatem Dowidar told CNBC Arabia on Wednesday his company was seeking to increase its stake in Vodafone to 20%.

The company formerly known as Etisalat, e& has been gradually building up its stake in the British telecoms company ever since it took a 9.8% stake for $4.4 billion in May 2022.

Its ownership as of April stood at 14.61%, according to an SEC filing.

The UAE operator's cooperation with Vodafone is awaiting regulatory approvals in countries where the British company operates, which "include an agreement to regulate relations between the two companies, and also the possibility of increasing our stake to 20%," Dowidar said.

"We are hopeful to get these approvals in the next 3 or 4 months."

(This story has been corrected to say that the company is seeking to raise its stake in Vodafone to 20%, not by 20%, in the headline and paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Writing by Clauda Tanios; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)