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STOCKHOLM, MILAN: Talk of consolidation among European mobile carriers<\/a> has grown louder with several executives voicing support as cut-throat price wars drive up debt and limit funds for 5G<\/a> network upgrades.
While Spain's Telefonica<\/a> has been raising the topic of mergers for years, it has been joined only recently by the likes of Vodafone<\/a> and Norway's Telenor<\/a>.
The subject is likely to be high on the agenda when top telecom executives gather later this month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with Britain's Vodafone noting that the need for fast, reliable networks highlighted by the pandemic had helped regulators realise the value of investment.
WHY CONSOLIDATION?<\/strong>
The European telecoms market is highly fragmented with even small countries hosting as many as four mobile operators, many of which are saddled with debt and wary of upgrading their networks to 5G without a clear path to recouping the investment.
In contrast, in the United States for example, the three main operators have large customer bases and have been able to bring new services such as 5G to market faster.
At the end of 2021, 5G accounted for just 6% of all subscriptions in western Europe compared with a fifth in North America, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report https:\/\/www.ericsson.com\/en\/reports-and-papers\/mobility-report.
Analysts say that in smaller countries, fewer operators would make the market more lucrative.
WHAT IS THE MAIN CHALLENGE?<\/strong>
Mergers would reduce the number of operators and regulators are concerned that could lead to higher prices, less choice and a reduction in quality for consumers, particularly if two local players join forces in one market.
ING analysts said companies should show any merger is beneficial to consumers and that cost savings could be used to fund network investment.
The European Commission, which in 2016 blocked CK Hutchison's purchase of Telefonica's British mobile unit<\/a> O2 for $12.6 billion, said https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_21_6101 in November that it was reviewing its competition policy guidelines.
\"Regulators are not showing any particular willingness,\" said independent TMT<\/a> adviser Massimo Comito, pointing to the billions of euros the European Union is making available for digitalisation and digital network upgrades. \"They remain keen to safeguard competition.\"
Telefonica later formed a joint venture with Liberty Global in Britain bringing together O2 and Virgin Media.
WHAT ARE TELCOS DOING TO RAISE MONEY?<\/strong>
From major pan-European players to Sweden's Telia and South-east Europe's United Group, telecom operators have realised the value of their masts to infrastructure investors.
Telefonica sold its towers business for 7.7 billion euros, Vodafone raised billions by floating its infrastructure unit and Deutsche Telekom plans to sell its radio business soon.
Ditching non-core assets is another option.
WILL PRIVATE INVESTORS STEP IN?<\/strong>
Private investors have been at the forefront of recent European telco deal making, with Franco Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi taking Altice Europe private and then amassing a 18% holding in BT.
Iliad's founder Xavier Niel last year completed a 3 billion euro bid to delist the firm, which is now circling Vodafone's Italian unit.
Providence, KKR and Cinven snapped up Spain's MasMovil for 5 billion euros in 2020 and Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus bought T-Mobile Netherlands from Deutsche Telekom for 5.1 billion euros last year.
While private equity firms don't face the same competition issues as established telco operators, they also don't have the same cost-saving opportunities that another local player could take advantage of in the event of a merger, said Nikos Stathopoulos, a partner at BC Partners and chairman United Group.
WILL IT HAPPEN?<\/strong>
Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Read said the company was pursuing deals with rivals in multiple European markets, naming Britain, Spain, Italy and Portugal, while Orange has said France will \"inevitably\" see the number of operators fall from four to three.
Countries such as Germany, the UK, Spain and Sweden have four mobile operators but others such as Norway and Belgium have three.
Stathopoulos said it was \"very natural\" for four players to become three.
\"The bigger question is will the regulators be happy to go from three to two in some markets and will they still maintain that competitive tension?\"
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为什么欧洲的移动电信市场整合的时机已经成熟
议程上的主题可能是高当电信高管聚集在本月晚些时候在巴塞罗那移动世界大会,与英国的沃达丰(Vodafone)指出,需要快速、可靠的网络所反映出的流行已经帮助监管机构意识到投资的价值。
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斯德哥尔摩,米兰:整合欧洲移动运营商越来越与几个高管表示支持残酷的价格战推高债务和限制资金5克网络升级。
而西班牙的西班牙电话公司多年来一直提高并购的话题,已经加入了最近才喜欢的吗沃达丰(Vodafone)和挪威的Telenor。
议程上的主题可能是高当电信高管聚集在本月晚些时候在巴塞罗那移动世界大会,与英国的沃达丰(Vodafone)指出,需要快速、可靠的网络所反映出的流行已经帮助监管机构意识到投资的价值。
为什么整合?
欧洲电信市场是高度分散的连小国托管多达四个移动运营商,其中许多是负债,小心翼翼的将自己的网络升级到5克没有一个清晰的路径来收回投资。
相比之下,在美国,例如,三大运营商拥有大量客户基地,已经能够给市场带来新的服务,如5 g更快。
在2021年底,5 g仅占6%的订阅在西欧与北美五分之一相比,根据爱立信移动报告https://www.ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report。
分析人士说,在一些小国家,更少的运营商将会使市场更加有利可图。
面临的主要挑战是什么?
合并将减少运营商和监管机构担心,可能会导致更高的价格,减少消费者的选择和质量的下降,尤其是在两个本地玩家联合起来在一个市场。
荷兰国际集团(ING)分析师表示,公司应该表现出任何合并有利于消费者和节约成本可以用于网络的投资。
欧盟委员会在2016年阻止了CK和记收购西班牙电信的英国移动单位O2为126亿美元,https://ec.europa说。欧盟委员会/ presscorner /细节/ en / ip_21_6101 11月,审查其竞争政策的指导方针。
“监管机构也没有表现出任何意愿,”独立说台湾海陆运输公司顾问马西莫·Comito指向数十亿欧元的欧盟提供数字化和数字网络升级。“他们仍然热衷于维护竞争。”
西班牙电信与自由全球后来成立了一个合资企业在英国汇集O2和维珍媒体。
筹集资金是电信公司做什么?
从主要的泛欧洲球员到瑞典Telia和东南欧洲联合集团,电信运营商已经意识到桅杆的价值基础投资者。
西班牙电信业务以77亿欧元出售了其塔,沃达丰(Vodafone)筹集了数十亿美元的浮动单元和德国电信基础设施计划出售其无线业务。
放弃非核心资产是另一种选择。
私人投资者介入吗?
私人投资者已经在最近欧洲电信并购交易的前沿,与佛朗哥以色列亿万富翁帕特里克Drahi采取Altice欧洲私人,然后积累BT控股18%。
《伊利亚特》的创始人Xavier Niel去年完成了30亿欧元收购公司摘牌,目前环绕沃达丰的意大利单位。
普罗维登斯,KKR和Cinven抢购在2020年以50亿欧元西班牙MasMovil Apax Partners和华平收购t - mobile荷兰从德国电信去年以51亿欧元。
尽管私人股本公司不面临同样的问题,建立了电信运营商的竞争,他们也同样没有节约成本的机会,另一个当地的球员可以利用在发生合并,BC Partners合伙人Nikos Stathopoulos说曼联集团主席。
它会发生吗?
沃达丰首席执行官尼克读说,公司追求的是多个欧洲市场的交易与竞争对手,命名英国、西班牙、意大利和葡萄牙,而橙色则说,法国将“不可避免地”看到的运营商数量从4 - 3。
国家如德国、英国、西班牙和瑞典有四个移动运营商但其他人比如挪威和比利时有三个。
Stathopoulos说,这是“很自然”四名球员成为三个。
“更大的问题是监管机构将幸福从三到两个在一些市场,将他们仍然维持竞争紧张?”
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