Zegona sale of Telecable de Asturia clears regulatory hurdle

Zegona Communications confirmed on Tuesday that the Comisión Nacional de la Competencia - Spain’s competition regulator - had approved its sale of Telecable de Asturias.

The AIM-traded firm had initially announced the plans on 16 May, proposing to offload exclusive control of Telecable de Asturias to Euskaltel in a transaction worth up to €701m.

It said on Tuesday that the approval was the “next important milestone” towards the completion of the transaction, following the approval of the transaction at Euskaltel's general Shareholders meeting on 26 June.

“When we acquired Telecable in 2015, we identified the opportunity for substantial value creation through the combination of the three independent Northern Spanish cablecos,” Zegona chairman and CEO Eamonn O'Hare said at the time of the initial announcement.

“This transaction turns our vision into reality, generates very attractive returns for our shareholders and provides the opportunity for significant additional value gain.

“We look forward to working closely with the Euskaltel board and senior management team to help close the company's current valuation gap and assist in defining the next exciting chapter of Euskaltel's development.”