Vodafone Sells Italian Business to Swisscom for €8 Billion as Part of European Restructuring

The British telecommunications giant Vodafone has sold its Italian operations (Vodafone Italy) to Swisscom, a Swiss telecommunications firm, for €8 billion, this sale is part of Vodafone’s strategy to reshape its business across Europe, the company also divested its operations in Spain (Vodafone Spain) to MásMóvil’s parent company, Grupo MásMóvil, in a deal worth €5 billion and merged its UK business (Vodafone UK) with Three UK, a move still under review by UK competition authorities.

Della Valle, the CEO of Vodafone, stated that this sale marks the “third and final step in restructuring our European operations,” the company intends to focus its European business on growing markets where it has “strong positions and good local scale.”

As part of the recent deal, Vodafone Group will continue to provide certain services to Swisscom for up to five years, the Swiss company will pay Vodafone annually for these services, with the first year costing up to €350 million.

Both companies aim to establish close commercial relationships in the future, enhancing cooperation beyond the Italian market, potential areas for collaboration include the Internet of Things, enterprise services and solutions, shared operational services, roaming, and more.

The transaction requires approval from the relevant regulatory bodies, including the Italian competition authority, as reported by the Financial Times.

Vodafone plans to restructure its organization into five main segments starting next month: Germany, European markets, African markets, Vodafone Business, and Vodafone Investments, aiming to streamline operations and focus on strategic growth areas.