Infrastructure investment firm Zegona has considerable experience in the Spanish market; Vodafone has been looking to exit
British telecom investment company Zegona confirmed it is in talks with Vodafone about acquiring its Spanish opco, after the Spanish newspaper Expansion broke the story.
Zegona said the deal is subject to agreement on final terms, funding and due diligence, “Therefore, there is no certainty that the potential acquisition will proceed, nor as to the final terms of any such potential acquisition”.
Expansion reported that Zegona was seeking financing for a bid for all or 50% of Vodafone Spain. It noted that it would be easier for Zegona to obtain financing for the latter.
The bid could value the company at more than €5 billion, the report said
Vodafone’s CEO Margherita Della Valle (pictured) launched a strategic review of the Spanish opco earlier this year, which was widely interpreted as looking for a buyer. She said in May at the Q1 earning report that she was open to “structural change”, reinforcing that view.
The Spanish market is ferociously competitive. Incumbent Telefonica is the largest operator, followed by Orange, then Vodafone. Orange is trying to gain the necessary approvals to merge with MasMovil, the fourth largest operator.
Zegona’s Spanish ventures
Zegona was established by former Virgin Media executives Eamonn O’Hare and Robert Samuelson to invest in European telecoms. It bought the northern Spanish cable company Telecable in 2015, then sold it to regional rival Euskatel in 2017, taking a stake in the enlarged group and harbouring national ambitions.
In the event, it sold its stake to MasMovil for nearly €2 billion in 2021.
Zegona’s previous investors have included Marwyn Asset Management, Artemis Investment Management, Fidelity, Capital Research and AXA, according to LSEG data, cited by Reuters. London-listed shares in Zegona were suspended at the company’s request.
In July, there were reports by Bloomberg of a proposal between Telefónica and Vodafone Spain to share fibre infrastructure between Telefónica and Vodafone.