UAE’s leading telecommunications operator, e& engages in discussions with PPF Group for a potential partnership, aiming to expand its presence in Europe.
In a statement on Monday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares trade, e& said it was at the “early stage of discussions of forming a potential partnership to explore strategic collaboration opportunities in central and southeastern Europe, excluding the Czech Republic, that are mutually beneficial to both groups”.
This move is part of e&’s strategic expansion into the European market. PPF Group, headed by the late Czech billionaire Petr Kellner until his unfortunate death in a helicopter crash in 2021, operates in various sectors including financial services, telecommunications, media, e-commerce, real estate, biotechnology, and transport.
Despite the tragedy, PPF has continued its corporate activities and recently acquired a 9.1% stake in Germany’s ProSiebensat.1. e&, founded in 1976, is the oldest telecoms company in the UAE and operates in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
The company is actively expanding its presence and has recently embarked on an acquisition spree. In May, it made a $60M investment to secure a 10% stake in Bespin Global, a cloud management company based in South Korea.
Furthermore, e& established a joint venture to provide public cloud services in the region. In April, e& signed a substantial $400M deal to acquire a majority stake in Careem’s Super App, a digital platform spun off from Uber, to enhance its consumer digital offerings.
Furthermore, this year, e& has increased its ownership in Vodafone Group to 14%, aligning with its international expansion strategy. Despite a 1.7% decline in revenue to AED 52.4B, the company’s net profit surged by over 7% to reach AED 10B ($2.72B) in 2022.
