Vodafone Acquire Italian And Spanish Divisions

Vodafone have today announced a corporate strengthening exercise throughout Europe with the acquisition of broadband divisions in Spain and Italy from established service providers giving them a direct route into the European market.

The mobile phone operating giant has spent an estimated $1.6 billion (£540 million) on business operations within Italy and Span that will give it a strong foothold within the sub-European broadband market over the coming years, with both nations set to fully embrace broadband technology more fully over the immediate future.

The divisions will come at a loss to Swedish provider Tele2, which currently operates its broadband service throughout Italy and Spain, as well as much of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. The £540 million offer was thought to be too significant for the Swedish operator to refuse, winning significant shareholder support.

The move will see Vodafone gain access to strongly growing markets which are predicted to continue to expand over the course of this year and next as broadband becomes more widely available in the Spanish and Italian markets.

Predictions suggest that the Italian broadband market, currently behind more established markets like the UK, has seen around a third growth over the last two year, with just under 45% of households projected to have broadband by the end of this year alone.

Meanwhile Spanish interest has risen by around 40% to 57% of households, with a view to continued expansion over the remainder of this year and next, making the investment an attractive prospect for Vodafone.

Vodafone has also just recently entered the UK market providing broadband services through BT infrastructure. It remains to be seen whether its UK offering will be successful in the present crowded marketplace, and indeed whether it can repeat that blueprint outwith the realms of the UK.

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