In 2000, Vodafone acquired the German company Mannesmann in a hostile takeover.
Vodafone began pursuing Mannesmann in late 1999 after Mannesmann expanded aggressively in telecommunications, including its purchase of the British mobile operator Orange. Vodafone’s unsolicited bid was initially rejected by Mannesmann’s management, turning the contest into a high-profile battle over corporate control and national business identity.
The takeover provoked strong opposition in Germany because Mannesmann was a major industrial group and one of the country’s most successful publicly traded companies. Its roots were in steel-tube manufacturing, but by the late 1990s its telecommunications operations had become its most valuable and strategically important business.
Mannesmann’s supervisory board accepted Vodafone’s improved offer on February 3, 2000. The transaction, conducted largely through a share exchange, was reported at roughly £112 billion at the time and became one of the largest corporate takeovers ever. Vodafone ultimately integrated Mannesmann’s telecommunications assets, while the original industrial divisions were separated. The episode is often cited as a landmark European example of a hostile takeover and a turning point in cross-border corporate control.