Vodafone has been told it must shed more assets after one of its major shareholders forced the resignation of its chief executive.
Xavier Niel, the French telecoms billionaire and owner of Iliad, a smaller European competitor which has built a 2.5% stake in Vodafone, added that change at the top of Europe’s largest telecoms group “only makes sense if the new chief executive has a clear roadmap from the board of directors”.
Vodafone yesterday announced the departure of Nick Read, its chief executive and former finance boss, after a 44% drop in the company’s share price since he took charge four years ago.
Vodafone put its UK headquarters up for sale in March, with to lease part of the site back on a long-term basis.
