Xavier Niel’s Iliad Group has submitted proposals to merge its Italian operations with those of Vodafone.
The proposals value Vodafone Italia at €10.45 billion; under the plan a new company would be held by the two parties with each receiving 50% of the share capital.
In a statement, Iliad said the proposed merger would create the “most innovative challenger” in a market that currently has 5 mobile network operators and more than 10 fixed broadband providers.
Thomas Reynaud, iliad Group CEO, said: “The market context in Italy calls for the creation of the most innovative telecom challenger, with ability to compete and create value in a competitive environment. We believe that the profiles and complementary expertise of iliad and Vodafone in Italy would allow us to build a strong operator with the ability and financial strength to invest for the long term. NewCo would be fully committed to accelerating the country’s digital transformation and especially fiber adoption and 5G deployment, with more than €4 billon of investment planned over the next 5 years.”
The offer could be welcomed by the British telco, which has publicly stated it wants to simplify the group.
