31st Jul 2024 11:29
(Alliance News) - Zegona Communications PLC on Wednesday said Vodafone Spain and Telefonica SA have signed an agreement to create a new fibre network company.
Zegona is a London-based investor in Europe's telecommunications, media and technology sectors. Zegona completed its EUR5 billion acquisition of Vodafone Spain from Vodafone Group PLC back in May.
The FibreCo joint venture will cover around 3.5 million premises in Spain and provide fibre access services to both companies.
Zegona said it expects to have a 10% stake in the new company, with Telefonica expected to retain the majority. It added that the two companies plan to bring a third-party financial investor into the share capital of the new company.
Chief Executive Officer Eamonn O'Hare commented: "Creating a new FibreCo in partnership with Telefonica is another key milestone in our plan to transform Vodafone Spain. This transaction fully complements the MasOrange FibreCo we announced last week and gives Vodafone Spain guaranteed access to future-proof networks with attractive economics. Moving Vodafone Spain to these new FibreCo structures is expected to create significant incremental value for all Zegona stakeholders."
Last week, Zegona announced a similar network sharing agreement with MasOrange SL, a 50-50 joint venture of France's Orange and Spain's MasMovil Ibercom SA. The structure also will be similar. The new fibre network company will be 50% owned by MasOrange, 10% by Vodafone Spain, and 40% by a financial investor. It is expected to reach 11.5 million premises across Spain.
Zegona shares were up 4.9% to 340.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Lydia Doye, Alliance News reporter
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