LONDON-Vodafone Group has ended talks with MmO2 regarding its Dutch mobile subsidiary, according to international press reports. Deutsche Telekom is the only named company still considering the business, according to the reports.
Vodafone reportedly ended the talks after closely examining the company’s books. The unit is valued at around US$210 million.
The Netherlands’ competitive mobile market includes five competitors. Besides O2 Netherlands, Vodafone, T-Mobile, KPN Mobile and Orange all operate subsidiaries in the country, which has a mobile penetration rate of more than 70 percent. All five of the current operators hold third-generation (3G) licenses, and eliminating one competitor would certainly boost profitability for the remaining players.
KPN Mobile is the market leader, followed by Vodafone. O2, T-Mobile and Orange all have between 1 million and 1.5 million clients, although O2 Netherlands has a high percentage of prepaid customers.
