French billionaire Xavier Niel got approval from the Competition Commission of India on Friday to acquire a 16.2% stake in Vodafone. Through his investment vehicle Vega SAS, Niel will pay approximately €5.1 billion for the shares. This deal makes him the single largest shareholder in the UK-based telecom giant.
French billionaire Xavier Niel received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday to acquire a 16.2% stake in UK-based telecom giant Vodafone Group.
According to PTI, under the approximately €5.1 billion agreement, Niel's family investment vehicle, Vega SAS, will acquire the stake from Emirates Telecommunications Group Co PJSC. Once the acquisition is completed, Vega SAS is likely to become Vodafone's single largest shareholder.
Iliad founder Niel is acquiring the stake through Vega SAS, which is fully owned by Maya SAS, a company registered in France.
According to Fortune, he once hacked into the phone of the then French president to demonstrate weak security. He launched Free in 1999, offering internet services and later a mobile phone plan. He attracted millions of customers by offering telecom services at lower prices than established French operators under the Free brand.
Since taking Iliad private in 2021, Niel has held a 96% stake in the company. Iliad generates €10 billion in revenue and accounts for most of his fortune. His other investments have also drawn public attention. These include a stake in French newspaper Le Monde, co-ownership of Paris-based production company Mediawan and the rights to "Comme d'habitude", the song adapted into "My Way" and popularised in English by Frank Sinatra.
In 2010, he launched the venture capital firm Kima Ventures, which provides seed funding to over 120 tech founders annually, investing around €15 million a year. In 2013, he opened a network of tuition-free coding schools called 42, a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which "42" is the answer to life's biggest questions.
In 2017, he launched the world's biggest tech incubator, a project that has been crucial in transforming Europe's startup sector. In 2023, through Iliad, he invested €100 million to launch Kyutai, a non-profit, open-source artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Paris. The non-profit was launched in collaboration with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and French shipping executive Rodolphe Saadé, with each contributing €100 million. In February 2025, Iliad set aside €3 billion for new AI data centres and open-source AI research in Europe.
Niel's partner is Dior CEO Delphine Arnault, daughter of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, described in the report as Europe's richest man. The couple has two young children, while Niel has two adult children from a previous marriage. His wider investments include billions committed to startups, technology training and artificial intelligence.
As of 31 October 2026, Niel ranked 254th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $13.3 billion.