Atlas said Vodafone was an “attractive investment opportunity as per the quality of its assets portfolio and the solid underlying trends in the global telecommunications sector”.

The investment vehicle added that it is supportive of Vodafone’s publicly-stated intention to pursue consolidation in selected geographies.

This includes the UK where the company has reportedly taken part in discussions around a merger with Three UK.

“Atlas Investissement’s view is that there are opportunities to accelerate both the streamlining of Vodafone’s footprint and the separation of its infrastructure assets, further reduce costs, improve profitability, accelerate broadband development in Germany and other geographies and enhance focus on innovation,” Atlas added in a statement.

Niel has investments in the telecoms sector in nine countries in Europe with nearly 50 million active subscribers and €10 billion in revenues.

The businessman is also a board member of KKR, the investment vehicle that was recently linked to Telecom Italia.