What: The British communications company Vodafone is buying the Spanish cable company Ono for about US $10 billion.
Why it matters: Vodafone will be able to add other products to its existing tariffs in the country as well as reducing costs of carrying its calls around Spain.
Vodafone has agreed to buy the Spanish cable operator Ono for US $10bn.The deal comes just six months after Vodafone bought a controlling stake in German cable operator Kabel.
The acquisition would definitely increase Vodafone’s presence in Spain and will help the company competing with Telefònica of Spain and Deutsche Telecom of Germany. Vodafone will be able to add extra products to its tariffs as well as reduce the cost of carrying its calls around the country.
The deal will be Vodafone’s biggest acquisition since its US $130bn sale of its stake in the US mobile network Verizon Wireless to Verizon communications earlier this year. Vodafone said is planning to spend at least US$34 bn of the sum generated by Verizon Wireless’s stake, on investments in its European Networks.
Ono owns high-speed data networks across Spain and offers TV and Internet services.The cable operator has around 1.9 million customers in The European country.
Vodafone Chief Executive, Vittorio Colao said: “The combination of Vodafone and Ono creates a leading integrated communications provider in Spain and represents an attractive value creation opportunity for Vodafone.”
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