The CFO of incumbent Swisscom has ruled the company out of doing any big deals in the near future, but said the telco will likely make smaller acquisitions in Switzerland.
In an interview with TelecomFinance, Mario Rossi said that Swisscom may look to…
The CFO of incumbent Swisscom has ruled the company out of doing any big deals in the near future, but said the telco will likely make smaller acquisitions in Switzerland.
In an interview with TelecomFinance, Mario Rossi said that Swisscom may look to purchase outsourcing business, particularly in the banking sector, for amounts in the low to middle two-digit millions.
The CFO explained that because its largest shareholder, the Swiss government, has set Swisscom a leverage limit of 2.1x net debt over EBITDA – it is currently at 1.9x – the operator cannot raise the finance to do any big deals.
Rossi added that he carefully observes consolidation, but does not think a reduction of the Swiss market from three players to two would benefit his company, which has 60% of the mobile market sewn up.
“It’s already tough to keep our market share,” Rossi said.
The full interview, which also covers the future of Swisscom’s desirable Italian operator Fastweb and the incumbent’s financing plans, will be published in the latest issue of TelecomFinance, out on Friday.
