The telecommunications sector woke up this morning with a novelty that many have not hesitated to define as a "revolution". The British telephony group Vodafone has acquired Unitymedia, the second largest cable operator in Germany, from the US company Liberty Global for 18,4 billion euros. The operations controlled in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania are also part of the transaction.
It is the largest acquisition made by Vodafone since 2000, but above all the largest transaction completed in Europe in the TLC sector in the last ten years.
As reported by the Financial Times, €18,4 billion is 11,5 times the operating cash flow of Liberty's cable businesses. The latter is a cable operator, headed by the US entrepreneur John Malone, present in 12 countries with various commercial brands.
Through this acquisition Vodafone officially launches the challenge to Deutsche Telekom, leader in mobile telephony in Germany through T-mobile creating "a national competitor for the incumbent operator" of Berlin. The company led by Vittorio Colao, according to a statement, will combine its current fixed and mobile Internet activities with those of Unitymedia.
"Vodafone will become the leading Next Generation Network owner in Europe, serving the largest number of mobile customers and households across the EU," said Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Vodafone Group. “This transaction will create the first truly pan-European champion of convergence competition. It represents a step change in Europe's transition to a Gigabit society and a transformational combination for Vodafone that will generate significant shareholder value. We are committed to accelerating and deepening investments in next-generation mobile and fixed networks, building on Vodafone's track record to ensure customers benefit from choosing a strong and sustainable challenger to incumbent monopolies."
