Vodafone Group PLC (LSE:VOD) has another major investor on its shareholder register after Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) snapped up close to a 5% stake.
US-based Liberty, which also owns UK telecoms group Virgin Media O2 in partnership with Telefónica, bought 1.3bn Vodafone shares, worth £1.2bn and 4.9% of the FTSE 100-listed company.
It soon shut down rumours of a takeover, saying in a statement that it is not considering a takeover offer.
“We believe, like many others, that Vodafone’s current share price does not reflect the underlying long-term value of their operating businesses, or their announced consolidation and infrastructure opportunities," said chief executive Mike Fries in the statement.
He also said Liberty was not looking for a seat on Vodafone’s board, telling the Financial Times it was “an opportunistic and financial investment” and that it had some “interesting catalysts” for value creation.
Vodafone is currently in talks with Three owner CK Hutchison over a proposed merger, which would see the former become the majority stakeholder of what would be the UK’s largest mobile operator, though chief executive Nick Read stepped down late last year.
Investors in the company last year included French billionaire Xavier Niel, who bought a 2.5% stake in the company, and Emirates-based telecoms group e&, which has built a 13% stake.
Of all the new investors, analysts at Deutsche Bank said "you wait for one and three show up all at once".