Swisscom has reached a preliminary
agreement with Vodafone to buy its Italian unit, Vodafone Italy,
for eight billion euros, the two companies said on Wednesday.
Swisscom is already present on the Italian telecommunications
market via its ownership of Fastweb.
"The parties have agreed that Swisscom will acquire Vodafone
Italy for an enterprise value of 8 billion euros on a debt and
cash free basis and subject to customary closing adjustments,"
Vodafone said in a statement.
"Vodafone has engaged extensively with several parties to
explore market consolidation in Italy and believes this
potential transaction delivers the best combination of value
creation, upfront cash proceeds and transaction certainty for
Vodafone shareholders.
"There can be no certainty that any transaction will ultimately
be agreed," it added.
Swisscom said that it would merge Vodafone Italy with Fastweb if
the deal goes through.
Last month Vodafone turned down a proposal from French group
Iliad to merge the two companies' Italian subsidiaries.
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