• MOST READ

• LATEST NEWS

This week is likely to witness the start of a new wave of restructuring of the global mobile market. French media conglomerate Vivendi finally admitted on Thursday that it was aiming to acquire the African operations of Kuwait-based multinational Zain, while the asset swap deal between Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom - Vodafone Turkey for T-Mobile UK - is also expected to be announced this week.

Vivendi, which already operates in the telecoms market via its French joint venture with Vodafone, SFR, and other activities, is looking to raise €4.5bn for its potential bid, and is talking to banks while also considering financing the deal through bonds or equity markets. The French firm wants a majority stake in the African businesses of Zain, which are likely to be valued at around $10bn.

It is following compatriot France Telecom into an aggressive expansion in the continent and hopes this will boost its flagging growth rates. Vivendi already holds a 53% stake in Morocco's Maroc Telecom, which operates in its home market plus Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Gabon. Zain acquired pan-African player Celtel in 2005 for $3.36bn, and has continued to invest in the region ever since, including a groundbreaking international roaming offering. Vivendi issued the usual cautions that at this stage there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to an acquisition.

Over in the UK, the exchange of Vodafone Turkey for T-Mobile UK could be announced this week, seeing Vodafone turning its back on Turkey after spending $4.55bn to acquire Telsim in 2005 and further large sums on network upgrades to cling onto second place in the mobile market. Vodafone recently took a $890m writedown against its Turkish operations even though growth opportunities may be limited, since mobile penetration is already over 90%.

Related Stories

COMMENTS

No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment!

Digital Money: The Convergence of Contactless Card and Mobile Payments

This report examines the emergence of digital money from the perspective of the convergence of card-based proximity payments to the...

Cloudbooks: Market Analysis and Forecasts
This report is based on interviews with device OEMs, retailers and resellers and provides a comprehensive analysis of the new cloudbook...