Vodafone (VOD) stock rallied more than 12% on Friday, becoming the top performer on the FTSE 100 Index (XU26). The catalyst was the announcement that UAE telecommunications group e& had agreed to sell its entire 16.2% stake in Vodafone to Vega, in a transaction valued at about $5.95 billion.
Vega is an investment vehicle wholly owned by the family of French billionaire Xavier Niel. Year-to-date, Vodafone is now up more than 10%.