Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has been cited saying the UK-headquartered telco is open to acquiring Spanish mobile operator Yoigo.
When asked about bidding for Yoigo, Colao did not rule out an offer saying his group would examine the potential price of…
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has been cited saying the UK-headquartered telco is open to acquiring Spanish mobile operator Yoigo.
When asked about bidding for Yoigo, Colao did not rule out an offer saying his group would examine the potential price of the asset and the opportunities it could present in Spain, reported Spanish news agency Europa Press. Vodafone currently owns the number two mobile operator in Spain by customers.
Vodafone declined to comment on the report.
The CEO was also quoted saying that he predicts consolidation in the Spanish market, adding that the number of operators could shrink from four to three, or even two.
There are four mobile operators in Spain: Telefonica’s Movistar, Vodafone, France Telecom’s Orange and finally Yoigo, which is considerably smaller than the big three.
Yesterday it was reported that Swedish incumbent TeliaSonera, which owns 76% of Yoigo, plans to launch the sale process of its Spanish unit within the next fortnight, with preliminary documents set to be sent to prospective bidders shortly.
France Telecom, Telefonica and America Movil have also been linked with buying the Spanish telco, although the Mexican giant has denied interest in the unit.
Yoigo operates wireless services via its own 3G network. It also has a roaming agreement with Telefonica.
Aside from TeliaSonera it has three other shareholders: Grupo ACS holds 17%, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) has a 3.4% stake, while Telvent owns 3%.
