Orange Belgium’s acquisition of VOO promises a significant impact on the Belgian telecom market, merging expertise and resources for digital advancements. Despite initial competition concerns, regulatory measures ensure ongoing fair market access for rivals.
Altice UK increases its stake in BT to 24.5%, fueling speculation about the company’s intentions. Despite no current plans for acquisition, the move highlights the shifting landscape of the telecommunications industry and the growing trend of insiders acquiring significant stakes in UK telco groups.
The European Commission has given Orange Belgium permission to purchase 75% of the capital, less one share, of VOO SA. The decision, which was made public on March 21, allows Orange Belgium to proceed with the proposed acquisition and strengthens the business’s convergent multigigabit strategy on a national scale. Orange Belgium’s undertakings, according to the European Commission, completely resolve the competition issues discovered during the purchase process. On completion of the acquisition, Orange Belgium hopes to run a high-speed network across Wallonia and a portion of Brussels. The company’s ambitious investment strategy, along with the combined personnel talent and knowledge of VOO and Orange, is anticipated to raise the standard of services provided to clients and boost competition in the Walloon and Brussels areas. Xavier Pichon, Chief Executive Officer at Orange Belgium, expressed his satisfaction with the European Commission’s decision: “We are thrilled by the decision of…
After reaching a deal last week, TalkTalk is prepared to purchase SSE Phone & Broadband. All existing SSE customers and the company’s staff will switch to TalkTalk in the upcoming months after the purchase has been finalized. This sale will allow Ovo Energy to concentrate on its core energy business, which the company acknowledges is a difficult position right now. For TalkTalk, the focus is on gaining economies of scale. The services delivered to customers won’t change right away, according to OVO, and TalkTalk confirmed that this is also true for the terms and conditions that apply to those customers until their current contract expires. These developments have come in the wake of rumors that Virgin Media O2 is considering acquiring TalkTalk, which was returned to private ownership under Tosca IOM in a £1.1 billion transaction late last year. According to reports, the firm might be valued…
Ericsson has announced that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has approved its $6.2 billion acquisition of Vonage Holdings. The transaction is scheduled to close by Thursday, July 21. The Swedish vendor’s most significant purchase to date is that of Vonage. This acquisition is a crucial component of Ericsson’s strategy, which calls for creating a market-leading service for businesses. Both the company’s boards and shareholders have approved the $6.2 billion all-cash transaction, but the deal was briefly put on hold while the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) looked at it. Following the transaction’s announcement, Ericsson became involved in a controversy in February involving payments to the Islamic State militant organization in Iraq. This incident led to investigations by various U.S. authorities, raising concerns that the deal would be in jeopardy. In spite of Ericsson’s offer price of $21 per…
Ericsson, a global networking company, has announced its plan to buy Vonage, a cloud-platform company based in the United States, for $6.2 billion. Ericsson is getting a more contemporary communications strategy with Vonage, which includes a cloud contact center, communications APIs, and a VoIP solution. The move reflects Ericsson’s growing attempts to join the enterprise market, with the goal of enabling these clients to take use of new services in addition to the high speeds enabled by 5G networks. This merger, though, is not about 5G. Ericsson is concentrating on Vonage’s communications APIs, which it hopes will allow it to access a global network of developers working on 4G and 5G technologies. Vonage is a cloud-based communications provider that allows clients to incorporate communications, such as voice, video, and messaging, into apps and products through its Vonage Communications Platform. Ericsson believes that Vonage’s cloud platform, which now serves…
The Italian telecoms operator TIM is evaluating the US investment group’s KKR expression of interest in acquiring the full capital stake of the company, a potential 11 billion euro transaction. The proposal was lodged by the US investment fund at a price of €0.505 per share, a 45.7 percent premium over the share’s closing price on Friday. TIM described KKR’s expression of interest as “friendly,” with the goal of securing approval from TIM’s board and management. Telecom Italia said its board of directors met and addressed the fund’s interest in initiating a prospective public tender, which is subject to a four-week period of due diligence and clearance from the Italian government, that has veto power over the group’s purchase. Although TIM is a private corporation, because it is considered a strategic asset for Italy, the Italian government has the right to decline any purchase that it believes would…
Viasat, a worldwide communications company, and Inmarsat, a major UK-based supplier of global mobile satellite communications services, have announced the signing of a formal agreement under which Viasat will buy Inmarsat for $7.3 billion. The merger will establish a global communications leader with increased size and breadth to link the globe more economically, safely and securely. The new organization’s complementary assets and resources will allow the launch of innovative new services in both the mobile and fixed segments, giving customers more options in broadband communications and narrowband services, such as IoT. The merged business intends to combine both companies’ spectrum, satellite and terrestrial assets into a worldwide high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network able to offer exceptional service in the rapidly developing commercial and government sectors. Together, these businesses will establish a formidable multi-spectrum, multi-orbit powerhouse. With production and people capacity around the world, the new company…
Vodafone Group, a British multinational telecommunications company, and the Saudi Arabia-based telecommunications provider Saudi Telecom Company (STC) are continuing discussion over a 55% stake sale of Vodafone shares in its Egyptian business, despite the expiry of the initial offer deadline last week. The two parties agreed in separate statements on a “misalignment” on Vodafone’s side in preparation for a $2.4 billion transaction of its Egyptian stake. STC said that the non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire the stake had ended without an agreement, but negotiations with Vodafone would continue. Furthermore, the British telecom company commented: “Vodafone now looks to STC and Telecom Egypt to find a suitable agreement to enable the transaction to close.” The MoU was announced in January of this year when STC offered $2.4 billion for the major part of a stake in Vodafone Egypt, which was expected to close at the end of…
Telefonica acquires Govertis Advisory Services The Spanish international telecommunications company, Telefonica, has announced the acquisition of the Valencia-based consulting company Govertis Advisory Services. The procurement was made through its subsidiary the cybersecurity company ElevenPaths. According to Telefonica, Govertis offers solutions that combine both legal and technological aspects of cybersecurity. The purchase of Govertis is related to Telefonica‘s ongoing investments in security through the development of proprietary solutions, the implementation of technologies in the global SOC network, and the acquisition of and investment in new companies. Eduard Chaveli, CEO and founder of Govertis, commented that this deal was a “natural next step in a long-standing relationship”. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y2lr9pl7 Argentinian government freezes Telco prices Argentina‘s government has extended a ruling applicable to Internet, mobile and pay-TV providers, preventing them from raising their prices until the end of 2020. These measurements were first implemented in May of this year to combat…