UK’s Vodafone Sells Its Italian Arm To Swisscom For $8.7 Billion

Vodafone, the British cellphone company has confirmed that it is divesting its Italian business to Switzerland’s Swisscom for 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion), Pan Pylas reported the transaction for the Associated Press (AP).

Vodafone will continue providing "certain services" to Swisscom for the next five years, with initial annual charges of 350 million euros. I Photo: © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

The sale, initially announced on February 28, marks the conclusion of Vodafone's strategy to divest parts of its European portfolio.

Swisscom, a telecoms operator, will finance the acquisition through new debt and pay in cash. The deal involves merging the acquired business with Fastweb, Swisscom's subsidiary in Italy.

This merger is expected to unlock savings of 600 million euros and enhance the combined entity's ability to invest and deliver improved services.

Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann highlighted the strong industrial logic behind the merger, emphasizing its potential to create significant value for all stakeholders.

As part of the agreement, Vodafone will continue providing "certain services" to Swisscom for the next five years, with initial annual charges of 350 million euros. The deal is anticipated to be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

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