MasMovil in talks to buy Vodafone’s Spanish unit, El Confidencial

Spanish fourth-largest telecom operator MasMovil, currently owned by three buyout funds KKR , Cinven and Providence, has approached Vodafone to buy its local unit, Spanish news website El Confidencial said on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources close to the funds.

Talks are at an “intermediary phase” and include valuation discussions, El Confidencial said, citing the sources, adding that Vodafone’s Spanish unit was valued at 7 billion euros ($7.90 billion) in 2019.

A spokesman for Vodafone in Spain declined to comment, but Chief Executive Nick Read said his company was “active on a number of M&A fronts”. He said there is a strong case for consolidation in Spain.

Vodafone’s revenues in Spain have fallen for the past few quarters as the company has lost customers.

MasMovil declined to comment. Finance Yahoo