Vodafone has agreed to acquire Liberty Global’s operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania for an enterprise value of €18.4 billion.
The acquisition will accelerates Vodafone’s converged communications strategy through in-market consolidation in Vodafone’s largest market, Germany, and in Vodafone’s Central and Eastern European (CEE) markets, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.Vodafone becomes the leading next generation network (NGN) owner in Europe, with 54 million cable/fibre homes ‘on-net’ and a total NGN reach of 110 million homes and businesses, including wholesale arrangements.
This will transform Vodafone’s fixed line and convergence strategy in key CEE markets, complementing Vodafone’s existing mobile operations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. In these markets, the combined businesses will reach over 6.4 million homes (39% of total households) and will serve 15.8 million mobile, 1.8 million broadband and 2.1 million TV customers.
Estimated cost and capex synergies of approximately €535 million per year before integration costs by the fifth year post completion, with an estimated net present value of over €6 billion after integration costs. Estimated revenue synergies with a net present value exceeding €1.5 billion from cross-selling to the combined customer base.
The Transaction is subject to regulatory approval, with completion anticipated around the middle of calendar 2019.
Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said, “This transaction will create the first truly converged pan-European champion of competition. It represents a step change in Europe’s transition to a Gigabit Society and a transformative combination for Vodafone that will generate significant value for shareholders.”
“We are committed to accelerating and deepening investment in next generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone’s track record of ensuring that customers benefit from the choice of a strong and sustainable challenger to dominant incumbent operators. Vodafone will become Europe’s leading next generation network owner, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU,” added Colao.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.