MásMóvil sells 51% of Euskaltel network
July 21, 2022
From David Del Valle in Madrid
MásMóvil has sold 51 per cent of the Basque Country-based operator’s network to a group of Basque companies under the umbrella of Bidasoa Aggregator (Asua Inversiones, Beraunberri, Inveready and Onchena) for €580 million.
The new investors have undertaken to deploy a fibre optic network covering 1.2 million homes in The Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia.
A Netco company has been set up to manage the new network, controlled by Bidasoa Aggregator, with MásMóvil providing operational and maintenance services
Meanwhile, the Orange Spain and MásMóvil merger is set to be signed by the end of the month following the €6.6 billion loan for the operation facilitated by a number of banks coordinated by BNP Paribas.
The companies will announce their quarterly results on July 27th (MásMóvil) and 28th (Orange) and it is likely they will also announce their final agreement, along with their financial performances.
They have been negotiating over the last six months regarding an operation estimated at €20 billion, combining both companies. Orange was valued at €8.5 billion whereas MásMóvil (including Euskaltel) at around €11.5 billion, including a debt of €7.7 billion.
During the summer, both companies will prepare all the documents required to be sent in September to national and European authorities for their approval, a process that will last around a year.