12 September 2024
Zegona Communications
plc
Vodafone Spain and Telefonica sign new
fibre wholesale agreement
Zegona Communications plc (LSE: ZEG) is pleased
to announce Vodafone ONO S.A.U. ("Vodafone Spain") and Telefónica de
España ("Telefonica") have
signed a confidential non-binding term sheet for a new fibre
wholesale agreement.
This new agreement will replace the current
wholesale contract which is due to expire at the end of 2024. The
agreement will create material synergies for both companies by
maximising the use of existing networks and optimising their
investments. The terms of the new agreement deliver significant
economic benefits to Vodafone Spain compared to its current
wholesale arrangements.
In July 2024, Zegona announced it had signed a
non-binding term sheet with MasOrange, S.L. to create a joint fibre
network company (a "FibreCo") covering approximately 11.5
million premises across Spain. In addition, Zegona
announced in July 2024 it had signed a non-binding term sheet with
Telefonica for a joint FibreCo covering approximately 3.5 million
premises.
This agreement complements the two recently
announced FibreCo deals and completes the transformation of
Vodafone Spain's fixed line strategy. The combination of these
fibre transactions ensures Vodafone Spain will have long term,
economically advantaged access to full national fibre coverage
enabling it to offer the most technically advanced connectivity
services to all its customers.
Eamonn O'Hare, Chairman and CEO of Zegona
commented "This new fibre wholesale agreement with Telefonica fully
complements our recently announced FibreCo transactions and
completes the transformation of Vodafone Spain's fixed line
strategy. The powerful combination of these agreements will deliver
national fibre coverage with no incremental network investment.
Vodafone Spain will be able to leverage these advanced network
assets to offer all its customers leading edge fibre
solutions. We expect these agreements to deliver substantial
economic benefits to Vodafone Spain and significant incremental
value for all Zegona stakeholders."
For further
information contact:
Lulu Bridges / Katie Hopkins / Ruairi
Millar
Tavistock
Tel: 020 7920 3150
Zegona@tavistock.co.uk
About Zegona
Zegona was established in 2015 with the
objective of investing in businesses in the European
Telecommunications, Media and Technology sector and improving their
performance to deliver attractive shareholder returns. Zegona is
led by former Virgin Media executives Eamonn O'Hare and Robert
Samuelson.
On 31 May 2024, Zegona completed the 100%
acquisition of Vodafone Spain for €5.0 billion.
About Vodafone Spain
Vodafone Spain is a national provider of fixed,
mobile and TV services in Spain, serving consumer, business
and public administration customers. It was acquired by Zegona in
May 2024.
About Telefonica
Telefonica is one of the largest
telecommunications service providers globally. It offers fixed and
mobile connectivity, as well as a wide range of digital services
for residential and business customers. With around 388 million
customers and more than 100,000 employees, Telefónica operates
in Europe and Latin America. Telefonica is a listed
company with its shares trading on the Spanish Stock Exchange and
those of New York and Lima.