Swisscom’s Vodafone Italia takeover cleared by Italian telecoms authority

Swisscom purchase of Vodafone Italia approved by telecoms authority Keystone-SDA

Swisscom is one step closer to its planned acquisition of Vodafone Italia, as the Italian communications regulator has approved the €8 billion (CHF7.5 billion) deal.

Italy’s communications authority, AGCOM, has approved the takeover of Vodafone Italia, assessing its impact on the competitive and pluralistic structure of the Italian audiovisual media services market. Swisscom announced in a press release on Wednesday that there were no reservations.

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Swisscom still requires two more approvals to finalise the major takeover. Alongside the Italian antitrust authority, AGCM, the Ministry for Enterprise and Made in Italy must also give its consent. The crucial approval is from AGCM, which began an in-depth Phase II review of the takeover two months ago.

Critical comments from the antitrust authorities

The antitrust watchdogs were critical, warning of a potential threat to competition in their report. According to the authority, the transaction would create a company with dominant market power in fixed network services for private, corporate and public sector customers.

The authority also considered feedback from competitors, including Open Fiber, Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Poste Italiane, Fibercop, Iliad Italia, and Retelit. Among other things, they raised concerns about frequency allocation for mobile services and access to the physical mobile network infrastructure.

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Competitors also noted that Vodafone Italia holds a dominant position in telephone roaming. Vodafone Italia’s market share is approximately 10% higher than that of its main competitor, TIM.

Swisscom sticks to schedule

Meanwhile, Swisscom is adhering to its current schedule. The Swiss industry leader still anticipates completing the transaction in the first quarter of next year.

A Phase II review in Italy typically takes 90 to 120 days, Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann stated in an interview with the news agency AWP two weeks ago. AGCM is expected to make a decision by the first quarter of 2025 at the latest, keeping the Vodafone Italia takeover on track. Aeschlimann declined to comment on whether he anticipated any conditions from the Italian antitrust authorities.

Second-largest telecoms provider in Italy

Swisscom announced its plans to acquire Vodafone Italia at the end of February, with the purchase agreement signed in mid-March. According to the Swiss government, all conditions for the acquisition have been met.

Vodafone Italia will merge with Swisscom’s subsidiary, Fastweb. Walter Renna, the head of Fastweb, has been appointed to lead the newly combined company in Italy.

Vodafone Italy and Fastweb complement each other well: Fastweb brings a broadband network, while Vodafone Italy provides a mobile network. According to earlier reports, the merger is expected to generate annual synergies of €600 million from 2029.

According to earlier information, this merger will create the second-largest telecoms provider in Italy, just behind the market leader TIM. Fastweb and Vodafone Italia are expected to generate a combined turnover of €7.3 billion and a combined EBITDA of €2.4 billion.

Translated from German by DeepL/sp

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