Vodafone-ONO merger stalls on tax
June 13, 2016
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Vodafone has suspended its merger with ONO, it was supposed to complete by June 1st.
Vodafone will keep ONO as a separate company, albeit with full control, of it, in order to pay fewer local taxes. Separately, both companies have to pay much less than combined. The decision comes as the Spanish Supreme Court recently ruled a tax imposed by Madrid’s city council on telcos for their use of land was legal, paving the way for similar taxes.
The company has announced that the measure will not affect its customers who will continue receiving invoices from Vodafone ONO, not integrated yet into Vodafone.
Vodafone agreed on the acquisition of ONO in March 2014 for €7.2 billion. As a result of the merger, the company carried out a redundancy plan cutting 1,059 workers.