Vodafone agrees to sell Hungary business for €1.8bn

Vodafone on Monday said it had agreed to sell its Hungary business to 4iG and Corvinus, a Hungarian state holding company, for €1.8bn.

It added that its shared services business - VOIS – was not included in the deal and it would continue to provide services to Vodafone's other operating companies.

"The Hungarian Government has a clear strategy to build a Hungarian owned national champion in the information and communications technology sector," Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Read said in a statement.

The deal is expected to create Hungary's second largest telecoms operator.

"It is clear the Hungary government is keen to build its own national telecoms champion with Vodafone prepared to take the cash in exchange for the spin-off. In November last year Vodafone’s CEO Nick Read said he was pursuing consolidation in Europe," said Interactive Investor head on investment Victoria Scholar.

"Now the telecoms giant can focus more of its attention on Germany instead, a market it considers to be the most attractive on the continent. There is also M&A potential for Vodafone in the UK amid recent reports that it considered a merger with Three’s UK division. Vodafone’s share price has been in long-term decline, halving since the peak in January 2018 but it still offers an attractive dividend yield.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com