Telefonica Wants All Of Telefonica Deutschland

TELEFONICA will spend approximately €1.97 billion on buying up the 28.19 per cent of its German subsidiary Telefonica Deutschland it does not already own.

The Spanish multinational has confirmed an offer of €2.35 per share, a 37.6 percent premium on the closing price of November 6.

Telefonica said the takeover bid, which involves 838, 452,647 shares, would reinforce its position in its four strategic markets together with Spain, Brazil and the UK.  This would also simplify the structure of the group while improving its cash flow in euros.

Responding to the offer, Telefonica Deutschland, listed on the Frankfurt stock market since 2021, announced that its “management and supervisory boards” would consider the bid.

It would comment after the full-offer document had been approved by the financial services regulator and published, the company added.

Plans to fully control Deutschland Telefonica follow on from the loss of a major roaming contract last August when the 1&1 mobile operator announced that it would be switching to the Vodafone Germany network in June 2024.

The company’s share price immediately fell by 18 per cent, which resulted in a 7 per cent drop in the parent company’s shares.

Nevertheless, between January and the end of September, Telefonica Deutschland recorded a 2.2 per cent year-on-year growth with revenues of €2.13 billion and a €125 million profit, up 18 per cent on the same period last year.

The number of its mobile customers rose to 45 million, with 400,000 new clients in the third quarter alone.