News
MVNO said to offer 550 million for Spanish mobile operator after U.K. investment fund fails to finalise its bid.
Zegona missed Friday’s deadline to submit a formal offer for Spanish mobile operator Yoigo, leaving the way clear for Masmovil to step in with a €550 million bid, according to local press reports.
Citing unnamed sources close to the situation, Spain’s El Confidencial on Monday claimed that, having initially offered €630 million for Yoigo, U.K. investment fund Zegona was unable to stick to the deal due to funding problems.
Telia Company, which recently changed its name from TeliaSonera, owns 76.6% of Yoigo but has been seeking to offload the business for some time. Having invited offers for the business, last month it agreed to enter into exclusive talks with Zegona, effectively ruling the other main candidate, Masmovil, out of the equation. Telia reportedly selected Zegona on the basis of it making a significantly higher offer.
However, Zegona’s failure to come up with the money appears to have thrown Masmovil a lifeline.
The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) has lodged a €550 million offer, which Telia will now examine, El Confidencial said. The Swedish operator must decide whether to take the lower offer or to give Zegona more time.
Whichever potential buyer emerges victorious, the sale of Yoigo will bring further consolidation to the Spanish telecoms market.
Zegona acquired Asturias-based operator Telecable in August for €640 million, and could use the additional scale Yoigo would bring as a starting point to snap up additional smaller players in the market.
Masmovil, meanwhile, picked up some fibre network assets from Orange when it completed its Jazztel buy last summer and brokered a wholesale deal for DSL network access. As a result, it declared itself Spain’s fourth national operator; adding Yoigo into the mix would lend credence to that statement.
