Europe: Hutchison eyes Italian merger

On the heels of receiving European Commission approval for its $953 million takeover of Ireland O2, Hutchison Whampoa is turning its sights to Italy. Several unnamed sources told Reuters that Hutchison is resuming talks with Russian Vimpelcom to merge their Italian operations.
A merger between Hutchison’s telecom subsidiary 3 Italia and Vimpelcom’s Wind would reduce the Italian market from four to three carriers. Currently, Telecom Italia is the country’s largest operator, followed by London-based Vodafone. Wind is No. 3, while 3 Italia is the smallest.
The sources said that Hutchison, which is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, and Vimpelcom have held discussions on and off about a possible Italian merger for six months. The talks were revived after the approval of Hutchison’s Irish deal on May 28 as well as the partial re-financing of Wind’s $12.9 billion debt.
Hutchison’s 3 Group operates in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In addition to the recent acquisition in Ireland, 3 Group also purchased Orange’s Austrian subsidiary in December 2012.
More telecom news from Europe:
Vodafone moves innovation center from Silicon Valley to London. The Vodafone Group announced that it’s hub for innovation and development activity will be consolidated in its home city of London, serving its customers in Europe, Africa and India. While the Silicon Valley innovation center will close, Vodafone Ventures, its capital investment arm, will keep its headquarters in California.
Deutsche Telekom closes GTS Central Europe acquisition. The German telecom giant officially closed its $743.2 million deal to purchase GTS Central Europe on May 30. The acquisition gives DT a fiber optic fixed line and infrastructure business in the region. GTS operates in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Current GTS CEO Danny Bottoms will remain as the head of the new DT-owned entity.
Report ― Telefónica in talks with German MVNOs to sweeten E-Plus deal. According to Bloomberg, Telefónica is trying to see if smaller companies operating as mobile virtual network operators, such as Freenet and Unitymedia, might be interested in accessing its wireless network while they build up their own networks. The move might help appease European Union concerns over Telefonica’s proposed $12 billion deal to take over E-Plus, which would consolidate the German telecom market.
 
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