Swisscom acquires Vodafone Italia in a $8.7B deal

For 8 billion euros ($8.70 billion), Swisscom will purchase Vodafone Italia and combine the company with its Italian affiliate Fastweb.

The agreement will establish the company as Italy's second-largest fixed-line broadband provider, after TIM, with a dominant position in the highly competitive business market and a leading position in mobile.

According to Swisscom, the transaction will be entirely debt-financed and have a 100% cash consideration.

The combined high-quality mobile and fixed infrastructures, skills, and capabilities of Vodafone Italia and Fastweb, according to a statement from Swisscom, will establish a dominant converged challenger in a market with significant growth potential.

According to the company, the deal won't need a shareholder vote and is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2025.

Swisscom, which is controlled by the Swiss government, has been operating in Italy through Fastweb since 2007, with customer and revenue growth of 50% over the last ten years.

CEO Christoph Aeschlimann said in a video statement that the merger would help them become a market leader in a sector with significant growth potential and would also be a significant step toward their objective of profitable expansion in Italy.

With this deal, Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle wraps up a hectic first year in which she promised to address three troublesome markets where the company sees no return on its investment.

Della Valle had previously committed to selling its business in Spain and combining Hutchison's Three with its British division last year.