Vodafone Spain Mulling Fixed Network Sale

Vodafone Spain has been considering the possibility of selling its fibre and cable network with a view to funding its operations in the country, according to unnamed sources cited by business daily Expansion. Investment funds and wholesale operators have reportedly expressed an interest in the fixed network, which has been valued at around EUR 1.2 billion, said the sources.

In 2014 Vodafone acquired broadband provider Ono and its cable network covering around 7 million homes for EUR 7.2 billion. That HFC network has now increased to 7.56 million homes and complements the company’s 3.51 million FTTH accesses, said the report. The idea behind a possible sale is to raise funds to help the company compete successfully in all segments at a time when ever-increasing customer demand for low and medium cost offers have forced it to take cost restructuring measures such as the recent collective dismissal of around 1,000 workers.

However an official Vodafone spokesperson told Expansion that “there is no active project to carry out a full sale… although possibilities are always being analysed and studied to find efficiencies and improve the profitability of assets, such as the possible partial sale” of the network.―Telecompaper