The possible sale of Vodafone Spain is facing a crucial phase. At least this is what can be deduced from the news that has emerged over the last few hours about business moves to acquire at least part of the Spanish subsidiary. The company has had several girlfriends over the months, but the information provided by Bloomberg and El Confidencial makes two things clear: first, that the operation is going through a key moment; second, that there are still several names of potential buyers on the table.
A bit of context. We have already talked about the possible sale of Vodafone and everything that surrounds it on several occasions. Rumors about such an operation have been circulating for a long time, years even, but they gained intensity before the summer, when the international group decided to initiate a “strategic review” of its subsidiary. Shortly afterwards, Expansión reported that the company was already exploring its sale in Spain with Morgan Stanley as an external advisor. The teleco would be open to all possible options, including a partial or total sale.
Is there more? Yes. To understand this, we need to open the focus a little wider, to take in the general picture of the sector: falling revenues of the subsidiary, management departures, tough competition from the low-cost market and the impact that the future merger of Orange and MásMovil could have. Against this backdrop, in September the British company Zegona openly and publicly showed in the Spanish subsidiary.
And we know this because the company itself confirmed to the London Stock Exchange that it was in negotiations with the Vodafone Group and several banks for a “potential acquisition” of Vodafone Spain. However, the company’s managers did clarify that there was no certainty that such an operation could finally come to fruition. Neither as regards its success, nor as regards “the final terms”.
And then… Barely a month later, new news has arrived showing that contacts are already at an advanced stage. Just a few hours ago Bloomberg reported that Vodafone Group is close to selling a stake of “at least 50%” of its Spanish business to Zegona, a deal that, according to the news agency, values the operator at just over 5 billion euros.
Moreover, citing sources close to the negotiations, Bloomberg assures that the companies are “finalizing the details of the operation” and that we could receive an announcement practically immediately, “in the next few days”.
Is that all there is to it? No. At least not if we take into account other information that has also circulated over the last few hours about the hypothetical purchase of Vodafone. Expansión agrees that Zegona has secured the necessary financing and that the signing of the agreement is imminent, so much so in fact that it could be announced as early as tomorrow, but Unidad Editorial’s newspaper goes one crucial aspect further: citing market sources, it states that the agreement would be for 100% of Vodafone España with a valuation of 5.1 billion.
One story, several protagonists. Vodafone and Zegona are not the only protagonists of the soap opera. Over the last few months, many other potential “girlfriends” of the Spanish subsidiary have been pointed out, companies allegedly interested in its purchase. The colleagues of Xataka Movil published yesterday an exhaustive list of the names that have sounded the most.
And among them is RJJ Capital, an Asian venture capital firm that Bloomberg placed a few days ago in the race for the Spanish subsidiary. To be more specific, the news agency assured that RJJ leads a consortium that was considering an offer of around 5 billion euros.
Who is at the table? That is one of the key questions. Although Bloomberg and Cinco DÃas have separately confirmed that Vodafone is close to selling a stake of at least 50% in its Spanish subsidiary to Zegona, other reports claim that RRJ is still sitting at the table. This is according to El Confidencial, which agrees that the possible purchase of the subsidiary is at a key moment and could be imminent.