Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

[seagles]

iWeb had them credited to my account on Friday.

[SPURLEY]

My Vodafone divi was not in my bank account Friday morning first thing , but around 11 AM .

[Itsallaguess]

Anyone seen their dividend yet?

AJ Bell are a day late now...

My AJ Bell dividend email for the VOD payment arrived at 12.40pm this afternoon (Monday), so it looks as though they were a little late on this occasion.

It's fairly rare for any of my dividends not to turn up on the day of payment, from any of my three share-dealing accounts, and even on the rare occasion that they are held up slightly it's usually only by a working day or so.

I can't ever remember having to actually contact anyone to actually chase one, so considering how many I get throughout any given year, I'm pleased to say that they're usually very reliable indeed, bar the odd slight delay.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[moorfield]

My AJ Bell dividend email for the VOD payment arrived at 12.40pm this afternoon (Monday), so it looks as though they were a little late on this occasion.

Well mine have finally turned up a little later than that at 12.53pm! Let's hope it doesn't become a bad habit.

[absolutezero]

iWeb had them credited to my account on Friday.

Same.

[idpickering]

Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Vantage Towers Q3 update 15 February 2021

Building momentum to unlock the full potential of Vantage Towers’ leading grids
 Vantage Towers' portfolio increased to c.82,000 macro sites and to a presence in 10 European markets - with
leading positions in 9 of them - following recent addition of 50% stake in Cornerstone, the UK’s #1 tower
company
 Strong commercial momentum
- c.1,400 new tenancies added in first 9 months of FY21 to 31 December 2020, including c.500 previously
non-committed tenancies1 – strong progress towards our medium term guidance of >1.50x tenancy
ratio
- c.450 new macro sites added in first 9 months of FY21. Confident of hitting our target of c.550 new sites
by 31 March 2021
- New agreements signed with Eir and Three in Ireland and AOTEC, the industry body representing over
150 local operators, in Spain
- IoT contract signed with Sigfox Germany
 Our programme to optimise ground leases through buyouts or renegotiations is showing encouraging results
with pilots underway in 6 countries
 Reaffirming our targets and FY21 pro forma Recurring Free Cash Flow ("RFCF") guidance of €375-385m
 Supervisory Board appointed with strong mix of sector, financial, technical and M&A experience

Here; https://investors.vodafone.com/sites/vo ... nglish.pdf

RNS here; https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00060287P/

[Darka]

Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Vantage Towers Q3 update 15 February 2021

Thanks Ian,

Lets hope it works out for us share holders and that we see a benefit from this.

[idpickering]

Vodafone Group Plc ⫶ Vantage Towers Q3 update 15 February 2021

Thanks Ian,

Lets hope it works out for us share holders and that we see a benefit from this.

Thanks for your input Darka. I agree with you. I hold VOD in my HYP, and as of now, they make up 4.2% in capital value terms, of my 25 share HYP. I'm likely to add to my VOD holdings over the coming months, as I don't regard that 4.2% weighting as overly excessive. Twice the average weight, ie about 8%, maybe so.

Ian.

[daveh]

Vantage Towers Intention to float:

RNS here:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00051622Q/

Vodafone confirms Intention to Float Vantage Towers

· Vantage Towers AG's listing and first day of trading on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) is expected to be before the end of March 2021

· Planned IPO to target a meaningful minority free float to create a liquid market for Vantage Towers shares

· Vantage Towers is a leading tower infrastructure company in Europe with approximately 82,000 macro sites across 10 countries with the #1 or #2 tower market position in 9 of its 10 markets

· Vantage Towers is focused on deploying the full potential of its market leading tower infrastructure to serve the increasing demand for connectivity across Europe, driven by data growth, 5G roll-out and regulatory coverage obligations

· Vantage Towers enjoys highly visible organic growth, margin expansion and cash generation; with additional value creation potential from investment beyond the core business (including diversifying Vantage Towers' service offering into areas such as fibre backhaul, IoT and edge computing) and from strategic M&A

and

Vodafone Group Plc announces today that it will proceed as planned with an initial public offering of Vantage Towers AG, a leading tower infrastructure company in Europe. Vantage Towers AG will seek a listing on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard), and the offering will consist solely of a secondary sell-down of existing shares held by Vodafone GmbH.

Subject to capital market conditions, the Vantage Towers IPO is expected to be completed by the end of March 2021. The target free float of a meaningful minority share is expected to create a liquid market for Vantage Towers shares.

However (as an aside) I shouldn't have been reading this RNS and I won't be able to purchase Vantage Towers shares in the IPO as:

In the United Kingdom, this publication is being distributed only to and is directed only at persons who are "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of retained EU law in the United Kingdom as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended) (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), or (ii) are persons who are high net worth bodies corporate, unincorporated associations and partnerships and the trustees of high value trusts, as described in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order or (iii) persons to whom this communication may otherwise be lawfully communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons").

The securities are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be available only to or will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

[TUK020]

VF slowly been creeping up the rankings on the Short tracker.
Now on the front page at No.10 with 4 funds shorting 4.5% of the stock.
https://shorttracker.co.uk/companies/?sort=2&d=desc
In a share with a forecast yield north of 6%, that is some people betting serious money that it is all going to end in tears
Where do folks think this one is going?

[simoan]

VF slowly been creeping up the rankings on the Short tracker.
Now on the front page at No.10 with 4 funds shorting 4.5% of the stock.
https://shorttracker.co.uk/companies/?sort=2&d=desc
In a share with a forecast yield north of 6%, that is some people betting serious money that it is all going to end in tears
Where do folks think this one is going?

Looking at shorttracker tells you nothing - that way only madness lies. Just because someone is short it doesn't mean they can't be long as well i.e. the short position could just be hedging a net long position. This is quite common in a run up to a corporate action such as a demerger, IPO, rights issue etc.

All the best, Si

[TUK020]

VF slowly been creeping up the rankings on the Short tracker.
Now on the front page at No.10 with 4 funds shorting 4.5% of the stock.
https://shorttracker.co.uk/companies/?sort=2&d=desc
In a share with a forecast yield north of 6%, that is some people betting serious money that it is all going to end in tears
Where do folks think this one is going?

Looking at shorttracker tells you nothing - that way only madness lies. Just because someone is short it doesn't mean they can't be long as well i.e. the short position could just be hedging a net long position. This is quite common in a run up to a corporate action such as a demerger, IPO, rights issue etc.

All the best, Si

Si,
I suspect you are right, this way madness lies...........
Still, VF is keeping company with the likes of Carillion and Cineworld, and some retail + oil exploration names
Since Carillion, I have taken a totally arbitrary stance of bailing out of anything that hits the 5% level in the short tracker.
May not be the soundest of investment strategies, but it does help sleeping at night.
Or is that a good definition of madness?

[daveh]

Vantage towers IPO price range:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00086086R/

Vodafone Group Plc: Vantage Towers IPO Price Range

9 March 2021

Vodafone and Vantage Towers set price range for planned IPO of Vantage Towers at €22.50 to €29.00 per share

Digital Colony and RRJ have agreed to buy €950 million of shares at the offer price

· Price range implies a total market capitalisation for Vantage Towers of €11.4 billion to €14.7 billion

· Base offer size of €2.0 billion

· Flexibility to upsize final offering by up to 40% of the base offer size, to €2.8 billion, through the exercise of a 25% upsize option and the greenshoe

· Digital Colony, a leading digital infrastructure investor and operator, has agreed to be a cornerstone investor in the IPO, alongside RRJ, a global equity fund based in Singapore, with commitments of €500 million and €450 million, respectively, subject to certain customary conditions

· Offer period will commence today and end on or around 17 March 2021

· First day of trading on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) is expected to be on or around 18 March 2021

So there isn't going to be much of a free float if almost half the IPO shares are being bought up by two companies.

[Darka]

Unfortunately I can't see any advantage to the float of Vantage Towers for existing Vodafone shareholders, or is it only me?

It might reduce debt a little, but VOD debt is massive and lets face it, Vantage Towers will probably get taken over by someone so VOD will lose those "large" dividends too......

I would have been happier if they had given us existing shareholders some free/low cost shares, so that we could benefit.

I suspect we will only lose out from this - VOD have been a terrible investment over the years.

[daveh]

Unfortunately I can't see any advantage to the float of Vantage Towers for existing Vodafone shareholders, or is it only me?

It might reduce debt a little, but VOD debt is massive and lets face it, Vantage Towers will probably get taken over by someone so VOD will lose those "large" dividends too......

I would have been happier if they had given us existing shareholders some free/low cost shares, so that we could benefit.

I suspect we will only lose out from this - VOD have been a terrible investment over the years.

Doesn't that depend on when you bought them - they show a 102% gain for me from an initial purchase in 2006 and a number of top ups.

Advantage of Vantage Towers IPO is that now a portion of the company is valued on the market so has a known price, which may lead to a re-rating of Vodafone as a whole if the Vantage Towers holding is valued at too large a portion of the whole company so valuing the telecoms and data bit of vodafone to cheaply - wether that will happen I have no idea. I agree the cash isn't going to make that much difference to VODs debt. If I've just read the balance sheet on the stock exchange site correctly debt is at Euros 102b

[idpickering]

MANDATORY CONVERTIBLE BOND & ASSOC'D SHARE BUYBACK

In March 2019, Vodafone Group Plc ('Vodafone') issued a two-tranche mandatory convertible bond ('MCB'), the first tranche of which (£1,720,000,000 1.20 per cent. Subordinated Mandatory Convertible Bonds; ISIN XS1960588850) matures today, 12 March 2021, and the second tranche of which is due to mature in March 2022. In order to satisfy the conversion of the first tranche of the MCB, 1,426,710,898 shares will be issued from treasury today at a conversion price of 1.2055. This reflects the conversion price at issue (£1.3505) adjusted for the pound sterling equivalent of aggregate dividends paid in August 2019, February 2020, August 2020 and February 2021.

As a result, Vodafone today announces it intends to commence a new share buy-back programme on 22 March 2021 (the 'Programme'). Further details of the Programme, including the target number of shares to be repurchased, will be announced in due course.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00020087S/

[Dod101]

Unfortunately I can't see any advantage to the float of Vantage Towers for existing Vodafone shareholders, or is it only me?

It might reduce debt a little, but VOD debt is massive and lets face it, Vantage Towers will probably get taken over by someone so VOD will lose those "large" dividends too......

I would have been happier if they had given us existing shareholders some free/low cost shares, so that we could benefit.

I suspect we will only lose out from this - VOD have been a terrible investment over the years.

Doesn't that depend on when you bought them - they show a 102% gain for me from an initial purchase in 2006 and a number of top ups.

Advantage of Vantage Towers IPO is that now a portion of the company is valued on the market so has a known price, which may lead to a re-rating of Vodafone as a whole if the Vantage Towers holding is valued at too large a portion of the whole company so valuing the telecoms and data bit of vodafone to cheaply - wether that will happen I have no idea. I agree the cash isn't going to make that much difference to VODs debt. If I've just read the balance sheet on the stock exchange site correctly debt is at Euros 102b

The parent Vodafone is also valued on the market and so has a known price but that hasn't helped it very much. I appreciate the idea is that the VT investment might be a more sought after bit of Vodafone than some parts of it and so attract a higher rating but only time will tell if it makes much difference to the price of Vodafone itself.

Dod

[TUK020]

VF slowly been creeping up the rankings on the Short tracker.
Now on the front page at No.10 with 4 funds shorting 4.5% of the stock.
https://shorttracker.co.uk/companies/?sort=2&d=desc
In a share with a forecast yield north of 6%, that is some people betting serious money that it is all going to end in tears
Where do folks think this one is going?

Looking at shorttracker tells you nothing - that way only madness lies. Just because someone is short it doesn't mean they can't be long as well i.e. the short position could just be hedging a net long position. This is quite common in a run up to a corporate action such as a demerger, IPO, rights issue etc.

All the best, Si

Si,
I suspect you are right, this way madness lies...........
Still, VF is keeping company with the likes of Carillion and Cineworld, and some retail + oil exploration names
Since Carillion, I have taken a totally arbitrary stance of bailing out of anything that hits the 5% level in the short tracker.
May not be the soundest of investment strategies, but it does help sleeping at night.
Or is that a good definition of madness?

Half the shorters have closed out their positions. Short tracker now only showing 2 funds shorting 2.2% of stock. Much reduced

[idpickering]

Vodafone Business briefing

Vodafone Group Plc is holding a virtual briefing for investors and analysts today for Vodafone Business, which will be hosted by Vinod Kumar (CEO) and Sateesh Kamath (Finance Director). The event provides an overview of Vodafone Business, which is a key growth driver for the Group, representing 28% of service revenue.

Through a series of video presentations and case studies (available at investors.vodafone.com ) , we outline the market structure, our unique scale & capabilities, our recent performance and our growth strategy. In addition, a live video Q&A webcast will commence at 2.00pm GMT on 18 March 2021.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00026334S/

[idpickering]

Vantage Towers IPO Pricing

Vodafone and Vantage Towers set final offer price at €24.00 per Vantage Towers share

· Shares expected to begin trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange tomorrow, 18 March 2021

· Placement of 95,833,334 shares (including 12,500,000 shares to cover over-allotments) resulting in gross proceeds to Vodafone of €2.3 billion (assuming the greenshoe is exercised in full)

· The successful offering implies a market capitalisation of Vantage Towers of €12.1 billion

· The IPO represents a significant milestone for Vantage Towers as the company continues its commercial focus on deploying the full potential of its market leading tower infrastructure to serve the increasing demand for connectivity across Europe

https://www.investegate.co.uk/vodafone- ... 00056360S/