Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") announces that it has entered into binding agreements with Zegona Communications plc ("Zegona")1 in relation to the sale of 100% of Vodafone Holdings Europe, S.L.U. ("Vodafone Spain") (the "Transaction").
· On completion, Vodafone's consideration will comprise at least €4.1 billion in cash and up to €0.9 billion in the form of Redeemable Preference Shares ("RPS") which redeem, for an amount comprising the subscription price and accrued preferential dividend, no later than 6 years after closing
· Vodafone and Zegona have entered into an agreement whereby Vodafone will provide certain services to Vodafone Spain for a total annual service charge of c.€110 million2
· The enterprise value of €5.0 billion is equivalent to a multiple of 5.3x Adjusted EBITDAaL3 and 12.7x OpFCF4 for the 12-month period ended 31 March 2023
Margherita Della Valle, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said:
"The sale of Vodafone Spain is a key step in right-sizing our portfolio for growth and will enable us to focus our resources in markets with sustainable structures and sufficient local scale. I would like to thank our entire team in Spain for their dedication to our customers and relentless determination to improve our organic performance. However, the market has been challenging with structurally low returns.
My priority is to create value through growth and improved returns. Following the recently announced transaction in the UK, Spain is the second of our larger markets in Europe where we are taking action to improve the Group's competitiveness and growth prospects."
https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... in/7849036
Ian (No holding).