Swisscom weighing offer for Vodafone's Italian business

Swiss telecommunications firm Swisscom has been mulling over an offer for Vodafone's Italian operations early next year, according to Bloomberg, potentially countering a rival bid from Iliad SA.

The potential deal will see Vodafone's mobile service combine with Swisscom's Fastweb SpA fibre broadband carrier in the country.

Swisscom and Vodafone were said to be in ongoing talks to discuss the terms of any potential deal, while a formal bid could be announced as soon as January.

However, final decisions were yet to have been made and Swisscom may very well decide against making an offer altogether.

As of 0855 GMT, Swisscom shares were down 1.02% at CHF 503.20, while Vodafone shares were up 1.60% at 68.56p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com