NEW YORK-Vodafone Group plc said it is paying $52 million to buy the 67 percent of reseller Talkland International (UK) Ltd. that it doesn’t already own from Companie Generale des Eaux of France.
Talkland is one of the United Kingdom’s top resellers, reporting more than 400,000 customers. Company headquarters are in Banbury, Oxfordshire, with a staff of nearly 600.
When U.K. mobile phone licenses were granted in the mid-1980s, network operators were not allowed to sell directly to the customer. Reseller companies were created, such as Talkland; Vodafone bought 33 percent and Companie Generale purchased 67 percent of the company.
Talkland isn’t an exclusive reseller of Vodafone service, but resells service from a variety of mobile operators. Talkland also offers data and paging service.
“We saw this as an attractive business to acquire. It has a high street presence,” said Vodafone spokeswoman Libby Pritchard.
Berkshire-based Vodafone intends to operate Talkland as a fully owned subsidiary.
“Talkland has been one of the major success stories in the cellular telephone industry over the last 10 years,” said Sir Gerald Whent, chief executive officer of Vodafone.
Vodafone’s mobile operations claim 2.5 million subscribers in the United Kingdom and 3.3 million worldwide.
