Spanish telecommunications group Masmovil, the country's fourth largest network operator, has announced an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of MVNO Lycamobile Spain for a total of EUR 372 million, confirming earlier reports. The subsidiary of the UK-based Lyca group has been targeting the ethnic market in Spain since its launch in 2010 and reported revenues of EUR 132 million and an EBITDA of around EUR 45 million last year. In a statement, Masmovil said the incorporation of Lycamobile into its group is expected to generate pro-forma EBITDA synergies of more than EUR 75 million a year from 2021.
It said the acquisition would further strengthen its position in the prepaid segment following the purchase of Llamaya and Lebara in recent years. Lycamobile Spain’s 1.5 million customers will serve to increase Masmovil’s customer base to around 10.4 million after it ended 2019 with just under 9 million fixed and mobile clients, having increased its mobile base by 845,000 lines in 2019 alone thanks to its use of different brands (including Yoigo, Pepephone, Lebara, Llamaya, Hits Mobile and Oceans) to target specific market segments.
Masmovil added that the Lycamobile transaction won’t imply any additional relevant Capex for the group, meaning the EBITDA generated by the deal will be converted into operational cash flow in its entirety.
