- Vodafone Group Plc's VOD Spanish business worth over $4 billion draws takeover interest from potential buyers.
- Private equity and strategic suitors have contacted the British telecommunications group, Bloomberg reports.
- While Vodafone is not running a formal sale process for the unit, it would weigh offers at the right price.
- Brewing competition from incumbent carrier Telefonica SA TEF, France's Orange ORAN, and private equity-backed Masmovil Ibercom SA took a toll on Vodafone's business in Spain. From 2018 to 2022, its revenue in the country fell 16% to about €4.2 billion ($4.6 billion).
- Vodafone's former CEO, Nick Read, sought a merger in Spain in 2022, only to miss out when Orange and Masmovil agreed to combine. Former CEO Read left at the end of 2022, and interim CEO Margherita Della Valle has since relegated Spain from one of Vodafone's main markets, folding it into smaller units like Ireland and Greece.
- Colman Deegan departed as Vodafone's CEO in Spain in March.
- Vodafone faced pressure to simplify its business, pursue deals to unlock value for investors and revive a flagging share price that's fallen almost 60% over the last five years.
- Strategic investors and some-time rivals Niel, Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC, and Liberty Global Plc LBTYA have bought up over a fifth of Vodafone in the last year, raising questions about how they might influence strategy at the British group in the future.
- Price Action: VOD shares traded higher by 1.50% at $11.11 on the last check Wednesday.
- Photo via Wikimedia Commons
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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