LONDON, Jan 2 — British mobile phone giant Vodafone announced Thursday it had completed the sale of its Italian unit to Swisscom for €8 billion (US$8.3 billion) as part of a Europe-wide restructuring.
“The completion of the sale of Vodafone Italy is the final step in the reshaping of Vodafone’s European footprint,” a spokesman said in a statement.
It follows agreements to sell Vodafone’s Spanish division and the merger of its UK unit with rival Three, owned by Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchinson.
Vodafone on Thursday added that it would continue to provide certain services to Vodafone Italy for up to five years.
Proceeds from the Swiss transaction would go towards reducing Vodafone’s net debt, while up to two billion euros will be redistributed to shareholders.
The company previously rejected a proposal from French billionaire Xavier Niel’s Iliad group to merge their Italian businesses, before beginning advanced talks with Swisscom in March.
Vodafone has been undergoing a transformation under chief executive Margherita Della Valle to help slash costs. In 2023, the group cut more than 10 percent of its global workforce.
Last month, UK regulators approved a tie-up between Vodafone and Three, set to create Britain’s biggest mobile operator, after the companies pledged to invest billions of pounds on rolling out a high-speed 5G network across the country.
Vodafone, which returned to profit in the first-half of 2024, saw its share price edge higher on London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index following Thursday’s announcement. — AFP
