Iliad chosen for talks to buy Italy mobile assets - Bloomberg
French company would enter into the Italian phone market if purchase goes ahead
- VimpelCom and Hutchison want to sell their assets to gain approval for their proposed merger
Updated : 17:28
The Italian phone market could have a new player as Iliad SA has emerged as a possible buyer of wireless assets in the country, as Hutchison Holdings and VimpelCom attempt to gain approval for a merger by selling unnecessary assets.
The French carrier entered negotiations with the pair, according to Bloomberg, in order to bring in a new player into the Italian phone market.
By approaching buyers for the assets, Hutchison and VimpelCom are trying to avoid a repeat of the EU veto of Hutchison’s bid for UK carrier O2 in May.
The two companies are expected to to submit new papers this week to avoid the EU's objections. If the bloc does not object to the agreement, the merger will likely win its approval ahead of a September 8 deadline.
Iliad has become well-known for offering competitively priced wireless packages in France since their introduction to the market four years ago, and this would be a significant expansion for the firm.
Shares of Iliad fell 0.7% to €181.10 as of 16:03 BST in Paris trading after rising earlier in the day by as much as 1.1%.
If it goes ahead, the combination of Hutchison and VimpelCom would surpass Telecom Italia SpA as the largest provider in the country.