Iliad sets its sights on Vodafone Italia: offer to the board, 14 billion on the table

Coup de scene in the telecommunications sector. Iliad reportedly bid for acquire the assets of the Vodafone group in Italy. The news was reported by Bloomberg, according to which the proposal would have arrived on the table of the board of directors of the British giant last week, after the go-ahead from the latter to the third quarter accounts.

For weeks now, there have been rumors that spoke of a possible marriage between Vodafone and Iliad in Italy in an attempt to put an end to the ruthless competition existing in our country. With the debut of Iliad in the Italian fixed network market, however, the merger seems to have turned into a real acquisition, with the French company led by Xavier Niel ready to dip into its portfolio to secure the Italian assets of the British multinational. Second The Sun 24 hours, it would be about an operation worth around 14 billion of euros which, if finalized, would create a telecommunications giant with a mobile market penetration in Italy of around 36% and combined revenues of almost 6 billion euros. 

The acceleration revealed by Bloomberg ralso represents a reversal in the face of what was declared a few days ago by the CEO of Vodafone, Nick Read, who had spoken of possibility of consolidation, through merger operations, in markets such as the UK, Spain, Italy and Portugal, confirming what was already said last November. “We are active on several fronts and see good engagement from our counterparties, which confirms that we have a number of potential opportunities to shape the business with stronger assets in healthier markets and unlock value for our shareholders. We are approaching consolidation with speed and determination,” said the manager

Last January 13, the number one of Iliad in Italy, Benedetto Levi, had instead made it known that the French company was open to purchase or merger with a rival operator. “If one of the main operators, in whole or in part, becomes available on the market, we will evaluate all the options without any preconceptions, also in terms of M&A”.

For the moment neither Iliad nor Vodafone have decided to release statements on the possible acquisition, but the operation has already collected the approval of the markets who are already looking at the possible benefits that a maxi agreement between the two competitors could bring to the entire sector. Yesterday, immediately after the publication of the article by Bloomberg, Vodafone shares reached a three-month high, rising to £138,14 before closing at £137,4 (+2,3%). Today, shares are trading around £137,60.