Fastweb and Iliad Telecom circling Vodafone Italy

Source: Vodafone

Swisscom-owned Fastweb and France’s Iliad Telecom are actively looking at the possibility of acquiring Vodafone’s Italian operation, according to press reports.

Bloomberg reported at the end of last week that Fastweb was exploring a potential deal.

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said that the Italian arm of Swisscom was studying a potential combination with Vodafone Italy.

Vodafone has in parallel been in on-off talks with Xavier Niel’s Iliad about a potential merger of the pair for several months.

Vodafone had previously rejected an €11.25 billion bid for the Italian operation from an Iliad-led consortium. Iliad has been active in the highly competitive Italian mobile market since 2018. Fastweb meanwhile is a competitor in the fixed-line space.

Vodafone offers both fixed and mobile services in Italy but has struggled in the face of intense competition. The company’s Italian TV base in Italy declined by 15,000 to 220,000 in the quarter to September.

Vodafone recently struck an agreement to sell its Spanish operation to UK-based Zegrona Communications for €5 billion.