Vodafone Portugal has agreed to buy Nowo Communications, the country’s fourth largest convergent operator, for an undisclosed fee.
According to Vodafone, the agreement, which is with Llorca JVCO, a shareholder of Másmóvil Ibercom, will see it acquire Cabonitel, the owner of Nowo.
Nowo currently has around 250,000 mobile and 140,000 fixed (pay-TV and broadband) subscribers, with its network infrastructure reaching around 1 million homes. Vodafone says the acquisition will “reinforce its competitiveness in the market, providing it with greater scale and greater coverage, with benefits for current and future customers, as well as for the sector. It also creates the conditions for more efficient investments in high-speed connectivity networks, as well as in the development of innovative products and services”.
Mário Vaz, CEO of Vodafone Portugal, added: “the acquisition of Nowo will allow Vodafone to increase its customer base, as well as its fixed network coverage. The future modernisation of the network acquired for the new generation of optical fibre will benefit current and future users, by guaranteeing the quality and increased resilience of this infrastructure. With 30 years of commercial activity in the Portuguese market, this operation is yet another demonstration of Vodafone’s and its shareholder’s commitment to the country, and of the commitment to the development of an increasingly digital society and business fabric in Portugal”.
The transaction will have to wait for the necessary regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2023.
