The company, formerly known as Etisalat Group and now rebranded as e&, offered about 130 pence ($1.59) a share for the stake, according to Bloomberg calculations. That’s a premium of about 10% to Vodafone’s closing price of 117.82 pence on Friday.

The purchase makes the UAE-based company the largest shareholder in Vodafone, ahead of BlackRock Inc., the Vanguard Group Inc., and HSBC Holdings Plc, according to Bloomberg data.

State-controlled e& plans to remain a long-term investor and won’t make an offer for the rest of Vodafone, it said in a stock exchange statement on Saturday.

The group “made the investment in Vodafone to gain significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services” and wants to develop opportunities for commercial partnerships, it said.