The operator has confirmed that it will sell Vodafone Italy for €8 billion.
The sale is part of a wider plan for Vodafone to streamline its European operations. The company is currently awaiting a decision from the UK competition authority for its planned merger with Three. Late last year, Vodafone sold its Spanish business to investment firm Zegona Communications for as much as €5 billion.
“Today, I am announcing the third and final step in the reshaping of our European operations,” says Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle. “Going forward, our businesses will be operating in growing telco markets – where we hold strong positions – enabling us to deliver predictable, stronger growth in Europe.”
As part of the transaction, Vodafone says it has agreed to continue to provide certain services to Swisscom for up to 5 years. Vodafone and Swisscom are also exploring a closer commercial relationship to enable collaboration across a broad range of areas beyond Italy. The key areas of commercial collaboration that Vodafone and Swisscom are exploring include IoT, enterprise services and solutions, procurement, operational shared services and roaming.
