News
Telia nets 479 million from sale of its Spanish unit.
Masmovil has completed the €612 million purchase of Spanish mobile operator Yoigo from Telia Company.
Including its recent acquisition of Pepephone, which closed in September, Masmovil now boasts a 4G network that covers 85% of the population, and fixed infrastructure covering 80%.
The merged entity has 4.2 million mobile customers and 70,000 fixed broadband customers. Pro forma revenue for 2015 was €1.07 billion, while EBITDA was €108 million, and operating cash flow was €50 million.
"Today is an important day for us, for consumers and for the telecommunications market in Spain," said Masmovil CEO Meinrad Sprenger, in a statement last week, who added that his company has "the capacity to offer the most beneficial services to customers," and brings a new kind of competition to the market.
Masmovil claims to offer converged services to consumers and businesses at a 30%-50% discount compared to its rivals.
Sprenger expressed hopes for a quick integration period that "allows us to offer as soon as possible advantages for customers."
As for Telia Company, the sale of its 76.6% stake in Yoigo has netted it €479 million, and is in line with its strategy of refocusing on the Nordics and Baltics.
"Yoigo was born almost ten years ago with the aim of breaking the status quo that prevailed in the market of mobile telephony in Spain, and it succeeded," said Yoigo CEO Eduardo Taulet.
"Today, [Yoigo] becomes part of the fourth Spanish operator in order to continue growing, investing in better infrastructure and services, and lowering prices," he said.
