16th May 2014 12:16
(An item published at 0809 GMT gave incorrect details of the potential sale. The correct version follows.)
LONDON (Alliance News) - Carphone Warehouse Group PLC Friday said that it has entered exclusive talks to sell its joint venture with Virgin Media Inc, Virgin Mobile France, to Numericable Group SA for EUR325 Million, just a day after Carphone said it will merge with Dixons Retail PLC.
Numericable is a French telecommunications and broadband services provider, formed in 2007 by the merger of competitors Noos and NC Numericable Networks.
Carphone has a 46% share in the Omer Telecom Ltd joint venture with Virgin Media that owns Virgin Mobile France. Any deal would be subject to approval from the French Competition Authority.
The joint venture has been hampered by competition in the French market, and in Carphone's fourth quarter it saw its revenue drop 8.6% as its contract customer base continued to decline. At the time of the company's half year results in November, Carphone had said that it remained committed to the Virgin Mobile France business.
On Thursday, Carphone announced that it had agreed to merge with Dixons Retail PLC in a GBP3.6 billion deal to form a new electrical goods and mobile phone retailer called Dixons Carphone PLC.
The companies said the aim of the deal is to cut the number of stores by amalgamating their electrical and phone stores into a joint offering, and to home in on the growing trend of connected devices, as smartphones become increasingly used to control everything from thermostats at home, to lighting and streaming music across homes. The companies also aim to roll-out the biggest click-and-collect network for technology products across the UK.
Shares in Carphone were trading down 3.7%% at 290.216 pence Friday afternoon, after falling by 8.1% on Thursday following the announcement of the merger with Dixons.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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