Swisscom gets clearance from MIMIT to acquire Vodafone Italia
The Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) greenlights Swisscom for the acquisition of Vodafone Italia.
December 23, 2024
With previous approval from the Italian competition authority already in the bag, MIMIT’s announcement now paves the way for the convergence of the challenger, Fastweb (owned by Swisscom) operating in the mobile sector with 5G only, and Vodafone Italia, the second largest operator in the country by subscriber share, according to Q3 2024 Omdia data.
MIMIT has accepted behavioural remedies proposed by Swisscom including “continued provision of wholesale services to interested operators in line with Fastweb's current practice and the sharing of information in any public tender for fixed telephony and fixed connectivity services issued by the public administration, where Fastweb or Vodafone Italia is the current supplier.”
The remedies will be monitored by an independent monitoring trustee for the period of three years. The approval late last week also included the change of Vodafone’s spectrum licenses control.
The deal, which was announced back in March, is for €8 billion and transactions are expected to conclude by Q1 2025.
Swisscom CEO, Christoph Aeschlimann said “Swisscom has been operating successfully in Italy since the acquisition of Fastweb in 2007. Over this period, we have built a strong track record of investment and profitable growth in Italy. The industrial logic of this merger is very strong.
“Fastweb and Vodafone Italia are an ideal fit to create high added value for all stakeholders. As a result, private and business customers will benefit from the most comprehensive offer. Swisscom will also be strengthened as a whole, allowing us to continue making significant investments in the Swiss and Italian market.”
Vodafone’s previous attempt at a merger in Italy had failed when in January the operator rejected an offer from Iliad (the fourth operator by market share). This deal can help Italy tighten up some of its telecom market fragmentation with operators currently splitting a mobile market of nearly 96 million subscribers five-ways.
Moreover, the Italian telecom market has had its fair share of waiting by the edge of its seat with the TIM saga of late, so this approval can hopefully bring some further closure to the market.
Regionally speaking, the Vodafone-Three merger in the UK was hailed as a potential catalyst for telecom M&A change across the continent. MEF’s (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) CEO, Dario Betti, at the peak of the UK case predicted as much, stating “expect more mergers and heated debates as the number of mobile networks — and their names — continue to evolve. The telecommunications landscape, […] across Europe, is entering a period of substantial transformation.”
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