Vodafone Spain’s CEO said that previous periods of consolidations had been positive for the domestic mobile telephony market
The potential merger of Spanish carriers Orange and Masmovil will represent a big opportunity for Vodafone Spain, Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias reported Vodafone Spain’s CEO, Colman Deegan, as saying.
Deegan noted that in many European markets the third operator is “the one that grows the most” and presents better returns on investment and has
The executive also highlighted that previous periods of consolidation have been positive for the Spanish mobile telephony market.
Deegan has also said that Vodafone has set a goal that between 20% and 30% of its network will have Open RAN components.
Earlier this year, Vodafone Spain announced it will start to provide 5G coverage via the 700 MHz frequency in 109 municipalities in 30 provinces during the course of the year, after the telco secured 2×10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band in July. Vodafone initially launched 5G services in Spain via NSA architecture in 2019 while the telco launched a pre-commercial 5G SA network in June 2021.
Spanish operators Orange and Masmovil have recently announced the start of exclusive negotiations to merger their operations in the country.
Orange said that each carrier will own 50% of the new joint venture, which will have a valuation of 19.6 billion euros ($21.55 billion).
The agreement between the two operators contemplates the right to launch a Public Offer for Sale (OPV) under certain conditions agreed by both parties and the right of Orange to take control and consolidate the resulting combined entity in the event of a Public Offer of Sale.
The JV would integrate the assets and equipment of both companies in Spain, including an ultra-fast fiber optic network with a presence throughout the national territory and a mobile network with national coverage.
This JV would generate synergies that could reach 450 million euros from the third year after the closing of the operation.
Orange noted that the transaction is expected to be signed during the second quarter of 2022 and should be completed in the second quarter of 2023, once the appropriate approvals are obtained from the relevant administrative, competition and regulatory authorities.
Orange recently announced what it claims to be the largest deployment of 5G in the 700 MHz band in Spain. The European carrier said it will offer this technology progressively over the course of 2022 in more than 1,100 towns and cities, 820 of them having between 1,000 and 50,000 citizens.
Orange had said it expects its 5G network to reach 90% of the Spanish population by the end of 2022. The operator launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using equipment provided by Swedish vendor Ericsson.
Masmovil said its 5G service had reached 686 towns and cities in 40 provinces across Spain for the customers of its Yoigo brand, as of the end of 2021.
According to the telco, 54% of the country’s population is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure.
The carrier’s 5G service is being offered via a combination of its own infrastructure and an agreement with Orange.
