France's Iliad agrees to acquire Wind, 3 Italia assets

Nieuws Mobiel Italië 6 JUL 2016
France's Iliad agrees to acquire Wind, 3 Italia assets

French telecom group Iliad has signed an agreement to create a fourth Italian mobile operator by acquiring the frequencies and infrastructure assets freed up by Wind and 3 Italia, the local subsidiaries of VimpelCom and CK Hutchison, if they gain antitrust approval to merge. Iliad confirmed that its majority shareholder Xavier Niel does not hold any stake in the voting rights or capital of Telecom Italia and that he would sell his options in that company "in the next few weeks". Niel last year invested a total of EUR 225 million to secure options in Telecom Italia that could give him a 15.1 percent stake.

The agreement between Iliad, VimpelCom and CK Hutchison involves the transfer to the French operator of a balanced set of 2x35MHz 3G/4G frequencies (2x5MHz at 900MHz, 2x10MHz at 1800MHz, 2x10MHz at 2100MHz and 2x10MHz at 2600MHz) for EUR 450 million, with payment phased between 2017 and 2019. The deals also includes an undertaking to acquire several thousand macro sites in densely populated areas or to bring into force a RAN-sharing agreement covering rural areas or acquire several thousand macro sites in those areas. Finally, the companies have also committed to a 2G, 3G and 4G roaming agreement on the merged network, for five years, renewable for one further five-year period at the initiative of Iliad.

The French operator was keen to stress that the remedy agreement is subject to European Commission approval as well as to the EC’s approval of the Wind and 3 Italia merger, which is due on 08 September. The EC needs to decide whether Iliad can compete effectively with Telecom Italia, Vodafone Italia and the combined Wind-3 Italia.

Iliad added that, if approved, the agreement represents a unique opportunity for the group to enter the Italian telecoms market, which is stepping up its digital transition. The company is keen to capitalise on the experience it has acquired in France, where it also launched a fourth mobile network operator under the brand Free back in 2012, leading to a serious shake-up of the market, the consequences of which are still being felt.

Categories:

Mobiel

Companies:

Wind,  European Commission,  Telecom Italia,  Iliad,  Vimpelcom,  Vodafone Italia,  3 Italia

Countries:

Italië

Tags:

Production planning & operations, Voice services, Data services, Regulations, Network equipment, Wireless, Wholesale, M&A buyouts & divestments

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