Swisscom, Iliad, Digicel submit offers for VimpelcCom and CK Hutchison's Italian mobile telecoms assets; Sky decides against bidding
The telecoms groups Swisscom [VTX: SCMN], Iliad [EPA: ILD] and Digicel [NASDAQ:DCEL] have submitted initial bids for Italian mobile telecoms assets put up for sale by VimpelCom [NASDAQ:VIPNASDAQ: VIP] and CK Hutchison [HKG:0001], according to a newswire report.
A Bloomberg report on Wednesday, June 8 cited people familiar with the matter for the information.
The offers, which are not binding, were submitted to European Union competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the people said.
Sky [LON:SKY], a UK-based satellite television broadcaster and internet service provider, has decided against proceeding with discussions, the people added.
VimpelCom’s Wind Telecomunicazioni and Hutchison’s 3 Italia are trying to find buyers for the assets, which include redundant wireless mobile frequencies and approximately 5,000 transmission masts, the item said.
The disposals are part of VimpelCom and CK Hutchison’s attempt to secure regulatory approval for their proposed EUR 21.8bn (USD 24.85bn) merger of Wind Telecomunicazioni and 3 Italia, the item noted.
The item went on to note talk that Vestager is working on objections to the Wind/3 Italia deal. The people cited by the report said the European Commission will give Hutchison and VimpelCom details of the offers within days, but added that the EC will not select a winning bidder.
The EC refused to comment, the article said. Separately, the commission said VimpelCom and Hutchison submitted concessions regarding the proposed merger on 6 June.
Representatives for Digicel, Fastweb, CK Hutchison, VimpelCom and Sky refused to comment, while a spokesperson for Iliad did not comment immediately, the report continued.
The article noted that Xavier Niel is the controlling shareholder in the French mobile operator Iliad, while Denis O’Brien holds a controlling stake in Digicel, a Caribbean-focused mobile operator.
Fastweb is a subsidiary of Swisscom.