French Billionaire Xavier Niel Scoops 2.5% Stake In Vodafone

French billionaire Xavier Niel-backed investment vehicle Atlas Investissement procured a 2.5% stake in British telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc VOD.
Atlas Investissement saw opportunities to accelerate the streamlining of Vodafone's footprint and the separation of its infrastructure assets, further reduce costs, improve profitability, and accelerate broadband development in Germany and other geographies.
The stake is worth £752 million, Bloomberg reports.
Atlas Investissement supported Vodafone's plans to pursue consolidation opportunities and infrastructure separation initiatives.
Private equity firms competed for a stake in Vodafone's wireless towers unit Vantage Towers AG VTAGY, which is worth €13.4 billion ($13.4 billion).
In August, Vodafone forged an agreement with Hungarian 4iG and Corvinus Zrt to divest its Hungarian business for 715 billion forints ($1.8 billion) in cash.
In July, Vodafone agreed to sell its operations in Ghana to Telecel Group for undisclosed terms.
Price Action: VOD shares traded higher by 1.97% at 12.40 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.
Photo Via Wikimedia Commons