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Having previously agreed to buy around 40% of the Polish company, the French operator has now raised its bid to a total purchase
Yesterday, French operator Iliad has announced plans to acquire the entirety of Polish mobile operator Play in a deal worth a reported €3.5 billion (around $4.3 billion).
If this deal does go forward, it would be the third international expansion Iliad has undertaken in recent years, after the company took a majority stake in Ireland’s Eir in 2018, as well as launching in Italy that same year,
The operator said that it has already signed a binding agreement to purchase 40% of Poland’s Play, but has now offered to purchase 100% of the share capital for €2.2 billion, giving a total enterprise value of around €3.5 billion.
Iliad said that Play had experienced “exceptional” growth in the past 15 years, making it a very attractive proposition for acquisition. With a Polish market share of around 29%, Iliad’s acquisition of Play would make it a major national player, as well as elevating it on the European stage.
The purchase would see Iliad expand to a subscriber base of around 41 million people, making it the sixth biggest operator in Europe; around 15 million of these would come from the newly acquired Play.
“This deal is a major chapter in our internationalisation strategy. It will make us Europe’s sixth-largest mobile phone operator,” said Iliad CEO Thomas Reynaud.
As always, the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.
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