Vodafone Three’s buy out is no surprise, but what happens for MVNOs could be.
Surprise! Vodafone has announced it will buy out CKH stake in Vodafone Three. As first birthday gifts go, it’s substantial. But was it a surprise? In terms of strategy, no. I think we could see it from a mile away. Timing wise, yes. To do it a year on from officially merging two brands was sooner than I, and no doubt markets and analysts, had expected. The deal is made up of a £4.3m cancellation of shares and an anticipated £700m cost and CAPEX saving. A decent chunk of change in anyone’s book. This will be realised by bringing the 100% owned company into the Vodafone Group and leveraging ‘synergies’ and, undoubtedly benefits from technical consolidation. There are other upsides. The...
