Iliad invites Vodafone to merge their Italian operations

Paris/London: Iliad said on Monday it had submitted a proposal to Vodafone to merge their Italian businesses, adding the project had the unanimous support of its board of directors.

"The merged business would be expected to generate revenues of around 5.8 billion euros ($6.34 billion) and EBITDA of approximately 1.6 billion euros for financial year ending March 2024," Iliad said in a statement.

Under the plan, Vodafone would receive 50 per cent of the share capital of the newly merged business, together with a cash payment of 6.5 billion euros and a shareholder loan of 2.0 billion euros to ensure long-term alignment, Iliad added.

Vodafone said last month it was reviewing options for its Italian operation, the last of three troubled European markets its boss had vowed to fix.

Iliad offered 11.25 billion euros to buy Vodafone Italy outright last year but was rebuffed.

It said its new joint-venture proposal, which Reuters reported on Friday, implied an earnings multiple of 7.8 times, which was higher than the 7.1 times multiple offered last year.

Vodafone is also evaluating a potential combination of its assets with those of Swisscom's Italian unit Fastweb, according to recent reports.

Vodafone's shares rose 4.3 per cent in early deals on Monday.