2023-11-24 16:43:00
Will Vodafone finally leave Italy? Possible. The British operator, now in great difficulty, is studying, according to the agency Bloomberg, different “options” concerning its Vodafone Italia antenna. Two players, at least, are interested in its transalpine assets. First there is the Swiss operator Swisscom, which is reportedly studying a takeover via its Italian operator Fastweb. The agency also mentions discussions with Iliad, Xavier Niel’s telecoms group and parent company of Free in France. The objective would be to merge the activities of Iliad Italia, the latest entrant on the market, with Vodafone Italia.
Last year, Iliad had already made an offer of 11 billion euros for Vodafone Italia. But the British telecoms giant rejected it at the time. Subsequently, Xavier Niel took a stake in the capital of Vodafone, taking 2.5% of the capital via his company Atlas Investissement.
Bad results
In the midst of restructuring, Vodafone, whose two main markets are the United Kingdom and Germany, is today in the red. When publishing the results of its delayed first half, on November 14, the operator reported a net loss of 346 million euros, compared to a profit of 945 million euros a year earlier. Over this period, its turnover fell by no less than 4.3%, to nearly 22 billion euros. In short, the results “going in the wrong direction”summarized Aarin Chiekrie, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdow.
These results reflect, according to him, “recent disposals and structural challenges” that the group faces. Like others, he criticizes, in particular, the operator’s colossal investments in fiber and 5G, while competition is weighing on its margins in several countries where it is present, and in particular in Italy.
(with AFP)
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