Swisscom’s Fastweb Is Said to Weigh Deal for Vodafone Italy

(Bloomberg) -- Italian telecom operator Fastweb is exploring a potential deal for Vodafone Group Plc’s local operations, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Charlie Munger, Who Helped Buffett Build Berkshire, Dies at 99

• Musk’s Cybertruck Is Already a Production Nightmare for Tesla

• Hamas Releases 12 Hostages Despite Claims of Truce Violations

• Bill Ackman Bets Fed Will Cut Interest Rates as Soon as First Quarter

• India to Add $5 Billion Aircraft Carrier to Fleet to Counter China

Fastweb, which is owned by Swisscom AG, is among suitors that have been studying a potential combination with Vodafone Italy, the people said, asking not to he identified because the information is private.

Vodafone has also continued to hold on-and-off discussions in recent months with French billionaire Xavier Niel’s Iliad SA about a potential merger of their Italian businesses, the people said, adding that there is no certainty whether Vodafone will decide to proceed with any transaction.

Shares of Vodafone were up 1.5% at 9:20 a.m. Friday in London, giving the company a market value of about £19.5 billion ($24.5 billion). Swisscom shares were little changed in Zurich.

Italy has one of the world’s most competitive telecom markets. The pending sale of Telecom Italia SpA’s network is set to reshape the industry, potentially triggering a wave of further dealmaking among carriers.

Vodafone rejected an €11.25 billion ($12.3 billion) bid for its Italian unit from an Iliad-backed consortium last year, saying the offer wasn’t in shareholders’ best interests. Iliad entered the Italian mobile market in 2018, sparking a cutthroat price war with its positioning as a no-frills operator.

Representatives for Fastweb, Iliad, Swisscom and Vodafone declined to comment.

--With assistance from Tommaso Ebhardt.

(Updates with share move, Swisscom response.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Chinese Car Companies Cracked North America by Going to Mexico

• Scientists and Farmers Race to Save the World’s Banana Supply

• MBA Alternative Augment Clinches $3.7 Million in New Funding

• How Elon Musk Spent Three Years Falling Down a Red-Pilled Rabbit Hole

• The Utah Jazz Enter Their Experimental Post-Cable Phase

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.