Major takeover – Swisscom wants to take over Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros – News

  • Swisscom is expanding in Italy with a huge takeover.
  • The Swiss telecommunications group wants to take over the mobile phone provider Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros and merge it with its own Milan broadband subsidiary Fastweb.
  • This would create the second largest telecommunications provider in Italy behind industry leader TIM.

However, the deal has not yet been signed and it is currently still unclear whether a transaction will take place. However, negotiations are at an advanced stage, according to a communiqué.

According to well-informed sources, the takeover is planned for this year. The joint company will have sales of around 7 billion euros and over 8,000 employees.

“Little overlap”

Fastweb and Vodafone Italy would complement each other well, according to the statement. Fastweb is strong in the landline network, while Vodafone is strong in mobile communications. There are only a few overlaps, the Swiss company continued. The takeover has a positive impact on Swisscom’s dividend and cash flow.

The figures for the Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb


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According to the annual report, the Swisscom subsidiary Fastweb contributed 23 percent of Swisscom’s total sales (a good 11 billion francs), i.e. around 2.6 billion francs, in the last financial year.

Vodafone Italy, in turn, achieved sales of almost 4.4 billion euros in the 2022/23 fiscal year, which ended last March. The joint company is likely to have a turnover of around 7 billion euros.

Fastweb’s share of the operating result before depreciation (EBITDA) of 4.6 billion francs is 17 percent, i.e. around 780 million francs.

Vodafone Italy’s EBITDA was 1.7 billion euros in the last financial year. As of March last year, Vodafone Italy employed around 5,700 people, Fastweb a good 3,000.

Swisscom took over Fastweb in 2007. The Swiss telecommunications group hoped that this would provide growth opportunities because the Swiss market was already very saturated at the time. From the start, Fastweb only offered broadband and had to purchase mobile communications. This is now set to change with the takeover of Vodafone. This gives Swisscom the opportunity to offer bundled packages for the broadband network and mobile communications in Italy.

Added value for stakeholders

With such offers, the Swiss company can ultimately retain customers better. According to the announcement, economies of scale, more efficient cost structures and “significant synergy potential” would also enable the future company to “create added value for all stakeholders”.

The company speaks of an “important step” in order to continue to fully achieve the “goal of long-term value growth in Italy and the strategic goals of the Federal Council”.

The British parent company has wanted to sell Vodafone IT for a long time

The sale of the Italian subsidiary should also come in handy for the British Vodafone group. According to media reports, she is more of a problem child than a model student. It supports “the consolidation of the market in countries where the company does not achieve appropriate returns on the invested capital,” said a statement from Vodafone in December.

According to the group, this also applies to Italy, which is why the business there is to be sold or merged. Most recently, the establishment of a joint venture with the French competitor Iliad in Italy failed due to different price expectations.

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