Proactive Investors - Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD) shares climbed after the telecoms group's largest shareholder increased its stake after Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) joined the register two weeks ago.
UAE telecoms operator e&, formerly known as Etisalat, snapped up more shares in the FTSE 100-listed group, taking its shareholding to 14%.
The Emirati group, which first built a 9.8% stake last May at higher prices, said it still looking to "enhance and develop its international portfolio".
However, earlier this month US giant Liberty Global, which also part-owns UK telecoms group Virgin Media O2 and has a large stake in ITV PLC (LON:ITV), also bought a 4.9% stake.
Similarly, Liberty, which sold its German and central European operations to Vodafone for €18.4bn in 2019, said it was making an investment in a business whose share price "does not reflect the underlying long-term value", assuring that it was not intending to push for a seat on the board or looking for a takeover.
Investors in Vodafone also include French billionaire Xavier Niel, who bought a 2.5% stake in September.
After Liberty entered the picture, analysts at AJ Bell said noted that "consolidation is the name of the game in the telecoms sector" and the stakebuilding was all about taking "a bet that Vodafone is going to be an important cog in the system" and "essentially getting its foot in the door should any new deals start to emerge".
They noted that while Liberty said it was only making an investment, "it’s got form in seeking optionality for potential deals", and "probably has a few ideas up its sleeve and realised it could have more influence by being a shareholder than sitting back and letting others get a seat at the table".