TeleGeography on LinkedIn: How an Unlikely Spanish Merger Triggered a Reshape of the Telecom Landscape (2024)

From DTVE:The European Commission has given a green light to #Spanish operatorMÁSMÓVIL’s #merger withOrange Españafollowing its in-depth investigation into the impact of the combination.The EC approval is conditional of full compliance with a set of remedies promised by the pair. In particular, MásMóvil must divest spectrum in the 1,800MHz, 2m100MHz and 3.5GHz bands to MVNO rival DIGI, enabling the latter to build its own #mobile network and provide additional competition.The pair must also enter an optional national roaming agreement, which Digi can decide to use or not. This is to enable Digi to provide national mobile coverage as any future network it builds on its own will not cover the entire national territory.The remedy commitments do not include any fixed assets as Digi already has substantial fixed fibre network in the country, which it is continuing to build.MásMóvil said it now expected the merger, which will take the form of a 50:50 #jointventure, to complete by the end of this quarter.The #JV will create a new market leader in #Spain in terms of number of customers, with over 30 million mobile services, 3.7 million broadband customers and 2.2 million TV customers. The combined operator will have revenues of over €7.4 billion and EBITDAaL of €2.3 billion, with an enterprise value of about €18.6 billion.The pair expect to realise synergies of €450 million a year.#mergersandacquisitions #mergersacquisitionsdivestitures #ownership

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In latest twist, #Vodafone turns down improved merger bid from #Iliad for Italian operations, instead mulls over potential partnership with Fastweb. Future of Italy's telecom sector hangs in balance 📲💼 #TelecomMergers

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The merger between Orange and MÁSMÓVIL is inching closer to completion, with reports suggesting that the European Commission favours DIGI to buy a number of the operators' divested assets, aiming to assuage #competition fears

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Another potential merger in European Telecoms - this time Vodafone and iliad in Italy, taking the market from 4 to 3 players.If i remember correctly iliad entered the market as a result of a previous merger to form wind tre, so this happening would be an interesting dynamic.Also will potentially be important for other mergers like Vodafone and Three UK in the #uk (although the European Regulator has already said no problems) as it shows a continual focus on cutting down the number of players, and trying to find ways for #mnos to be able to earn a return on investment to justify investment in #5g networks.https://lnkd.in/ehRny-qw

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Without surprise, at least on my part, #CMA has opened Phase 2 on the planned #merger between #Vodafone and #Hutchison in the UK. This would seem to mean that rhetoric about mobile operators #consolidation always ultimately clashes with reality, both in Brussels and outside the EU (this time in London).If the merger is due to industrial reasons, for example the need to invest, this must be demonstrated. However, if the transaction is motivated by financial reasons, such as let's cut some costs and distribute the surplus to the shareholders, it's another matter.The parties must now propose commitments to the CMA. The most common could be the offer to divest assets in favor of a new entrant, as just happened in Spain between #Orange and #MasMovil (with the entry of the new player #Digi)https://lnkd.in/dNHvSB28

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Good to see the Orange España and Grupo MASMOVIL merger approved in Spain, creating a new market leading MNO.Consolidation is high on the agenda at the moment all across Europe, it was also interesting to see Telefonica (a rival) actually say they thought the terms of the merger where too harsh!Will be interesting to see if these decisions have any impact on other proposed deals in the works.#connectivity #networks #investment #innovation #mnos #regulation #2g #3g #4g #5g #business #spain #europe #mergers #growth #mobile #mobilenetworkshttps://lnkd.in/eaPCiBVN

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The recent agreed merger of Vodafone and Three UK could deliver up to £5 billion per year in economic benefit by 2030, create jobs and support digital transformation of the UK's businesses. Find out more on the benefits this merger could have here: https://zurl.co/9KyD #UKBusinesses #UKEconomy

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Here we go! Vodafone and Three UK announce their long-awaited merger. We've penned some thoughts on the proposed deal, its implications and the competition issues in getting it past the authoritieshttps://lnkd.in/er3JEXTx

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Good news that the Spanish Government have approved the Orange España and Grupo MASMOVIL merger, the final hurdle needed.Consolidation will be the theme of 2024 in my opinion - will companies operating in a market (telecoms) that require scale and large capital expenditures be allowed to merge, find synergies and raise prices? If so then there is the potential that by the end of the year (or next) 5G will be deployed in a way that will allow for users to benefit, if not then maybe not.#spain #regulatory #mergers #telecoms #networks #mnos #government #5g #5gnetwork #2g #3g #4g #telecoms #telecommunications #telecom #telecomunicaciones https://lnkd.in/exKbJ-FR

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The planned £18 billion #merger of #Vodafone and #Three’s British businesses could lead to mobile customers facing higher prices and reduced quality, the UK’s #competition watchdog said.During a preliminary investigation it found thatVodafone UKandThree UKoffer different choices for mobile customers and consolidation could affect rivalry between #mobileoperators as well as making it harder for the smaller players to compete.“Competitive pressure can help to keep #prices low, as well as provide an important incentive for network operators to improve their services, including by investing in network quality,” theCompetition and Markets Authority(CMA) said. As a result, the deal has been referred for further scrutiny in a longer, phase two investigation, a much-anticipated decision by the regulator, given thesize of the tie-up.A joint venture between Vodafone and Three, which is owned by the Hong Kong-listed conglomerate CK Hutchison, would create Britain’s biggest mobile network, bringing 27 million #customers together. The long-anticipated merger proposal was announced last year, an attempt to create scale in the notoriously difficult telco market, where significant investment is needed to upgrade and maintain infrastructure, demand for communication services is increasing but consumers are also highly price sensitive.

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