MasMovil denies it is planning to acquire Vodafone Espana

Spanish alternative telco MasMovil has swiftly moved to deny press speculation that it is involved in a potential move to acquire cable and mobile operator Vodafone Espana.

The telco moved swiftly to inform markets regulator the CMNV that it was “not involved in any process of acquisition, merger or any other type of corporate transaction with Vodafone Espana” after El Confidencial reported that MasMovil had earlier made a €6 billion bid for the larger operator.

El Confidiencial reported that MasMovil had secured the support of Goldman Sachs to help finance the acquisition, with a non-binding offer made over the summer, but which was rejected by Vodafone, which wants around €8 billion for the Spanish unit.

Vodafone acquired cable operator Ono for €7.2 billion in 2014.

Vodafone’s performance in Spain has suffered since it decided not to license Spanish premium football coverage from Telefonica.