Vodafone* today announces that it has agreed to acquire the 26.4% interest in Arcor AG & Co. KG (“Arcor”) that it does not already own from Deutsche Bahn AG and Deutsche Bank AG for a cash consideration of €474 million.
With full ownership of Arcor, the leading alternative fixed-line carrier in Germany with 2.6 million DSL lines, representing 14% market share, Vodafone continues to execute on its strategy of meeting the total telecommunication needs of its customers. The transaction also enables Vodafone Germany to exploit further the potential synergies available from fixed-mobile integration and to participate more effectively in the continued rapid development of the German broadband market, which is growing at just under 30% per annum.
Commenting on the transaction, Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said: “This deal is consistent with our total communications strategy. By taking full control of Arcor and aligning it more closely with Vodafone Germany we will leverage the greater scale this presents, and generate synergies and substantial time to market benefits within Europe’s largest telecommunications market.”
The transaction meets Vodafone’s stated financial criteria and is broadly neutral to adjusted earnings per share from the date of the acquisition. There are no outstanding conditions to the acquisition and it will therefore be completed today.
* The purchaser is Vodafone Holding GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group.
Source: Vodafone