United Internet shares surge on Vodafone deal with 1&1

Shares in United Internet surged on Wednesday after its majority-owned German mobile and broadband provider 1&1 agreed agreed a deal for Vodafone to provide 5G coverage to its customers, in a move that would see it replace Telefonica Deutschland.

In a statement, Vodafone said it would provide mobile coverage in areas not covered by 1&1's new network, including 5G, 2G and 4G by October 2024 at the latest.

The news saw shares in Telefonica Deutschland's slump almost 17%, while parent company Telefonica fell 7%. Shares in Vodafone rose 3%, 1&1 soared 16% and United Internet was up 15%.

Vodafone said the commercial agreement with 1&1 was for 18 years, and it would start to deliver the 5G coverage to 1&1 customers from the second half of 2024.

It added that wholesale costs would be indexed to Vodafone's mobile network cost to reflect the impact of inflation and technological developments over time.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com