Europe: 3 Ireland completes O2 takeover

There is a new order in Ireland’s wireless market, with 3 now No. 2. The operator, which is owned by the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, this week completed its $1.15 billion buyout of Telefónica’s O2. The deal gives 3 nearly 40% of the market share in Ireland and reduces the number of major mobile operators in the country from four to three. The other two are No. 1 Vodafone and No. 3 Meteor, which is part of the Eircom group.
The deal was made over the objections of Ireland’s communications regulator, Comreg, which was concerned that the market consolidation would lead to higher prices. However, the European Commission approved the deal in May stipulating that 3 had to allow mobile virtual network operators to access its networks.
HWL says it has invested nearly $1.5 billion in Ireland and plans to invest another $400 million to build an LTE network over the next three years.
“This is a big day for the Irish telecoms market,” said 3 Ireland CEO Robert Finnegan. “We will now get down to the task of combining the strengths and talents of the two businesses to create a major force in the Irish mobile market, which will be good for competition, good for consumers and good for Ireland.”
More telecom news from Europe:
Tele2 second quarter profits rise: A week after announcing it would sell its Norwegian business, Swedish carrier Tele2 released Q2 results showing a relatively strong quarter for 2014. Excluding Norway, Tele2’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization came in at $220 million, above analysts forecasts of $208 million.
TeliaSonera, which is buying Tele2’s Norwegian operations for about $747 million, plans to release its second quarter results on July 17.
FreedomPop sets its sites on Europe, starting with Belgium: The U.S.-based startup that has been offering its “free” SIM-only service is crossing the pond. FreedomPop plans to launch its service in Belgium before expanding to the U.K., Germany, France and Spain in the coming months. The company also plans to enter “Pacific Rim” markets as well. CEO Stephen Stokols told Tech Crunch that they will lead with the same plan as the U.S. with free access to 500 megabytes of data, 200 voice minutes and 500 text messages. Paid plan pricing has not yet been announced.
América Móvil will take over more than half of Telekom Austria: The company, which is owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, announced on July 14 that it would bring its stake in Telekom Austria from 27% to about 50.8% with the purchase of nearly 104 million shares. The transaction will cost América Móvil about $1 billion.
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