German mobile operator Vodafone Deutschland has obtained a €350m (US$429.5m) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand and upgrade its network. The project, the total cost of which has not been disclosed, will take place in 2014 and 2015,…
German mobile operator Vodafone Deutschland has obtained a €350m (US$429.5m) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand and upgrade its network.
The project, the total cost of which has not been disclosed, will take place in 2014 and 2015, EIB said.
“The objective is to improve the customer experience in terms of voice quality, coverage of 3G and 4G broadband service through new radio access nodes and high-capacity transmission systems,” the European bank commented.
Vodafone Deutschland, owned by UK giant Vodafone, is now Germany’s third-largest mobile operator, in terms of subscribers, behind incumbent Deutsche Telekom and recently-merged player O2-E-Plus.
Its parent bought cableco Kabel Deutschland (KDG) for €7.7bn last year. However, a recent independent auditor’s review found that Vodafone underpaid for the assets.
The auditor was commissioned to conduct the report by KDG after one of its investors, Elliott Management Corp, filed a court motion. The hedge fund is suing the cableco arguing that its management should have demanded more from Vodafone.
In response, the UK telco pointed out that KDG’s board unanimously recommended its offer at the time and that 76.6% of shareholders initially tendered their shares.