Spain's Masmovil, the country's fourth largest network operator, has issued a statement denying a report that it was working with Goldman Sachs to acquire Vodafone Spain for EUR 6 billion. Online news site El Confidencial said Masmovil submitted a non-binding offer for Vodafone’s Spanish subsidiary earlier this summer, citing unnamed sources close to the negotiations. MasMovil’s offer was rebuffed by Vodafone, which requested EUR 8 billion for its Spanish unit, said the sources, adding that consultancy firm McKinsey even drew up a strategic plan estimating potential synergies of EUR 2 billion.
However, both companies have strongly denied the report, with a Vodafone spokesman telling El Confidencial that the company “flatly denies any ongoing talks with Masmovil”, while Masmovil issued a statement to Spain’s securities market regulator CNMV rejecting the speculation. “Masmovil informs that it is not involved in any process of acquisition, merger or any other form of corporation transaction with Vodafone Spain," it said.
Additional sources cited in the report suggested that EU authorities would be unlikely to authorise a transaction to create a EUR 9 billion company alongside Telefonica and Orange, as it would reduce the number of nationwide domestic operators from four to three.
