The sale of Telefonica’s O2 to Hong Kong telecoms giant Hutchison remains up in the air. And the European Commission (EC), which has the final responsibility for the outcome of the transaction, is still being a dog in a manger, under pressure from the UK authorities.
French telecoms operator Orange got the green light from the regulatory authorities to sell its 50% stake in Everything Everywhere (EE) to British Telecom (BT). But it seems UK regulator Ofcom is now prepared to use all the means at its disposal to block the merger between Three and O2 UK (Hutchison-Telefonica).
It has been 1 year since Telefonica closed a deal to merge O2 (Movistar) with Three, the UK subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa. And the two protagonists are still waiting for the UK and EU regulatory authorities to give the operation the green light.
The global economy in general, and the Spanish economy in particular, are experiencing turbulent times. China, the emerging markets, raw materials, the weak recovery, inflation or exchange rates are entangled with the domestic problems of each individual country. In Spain, these are focused on a political map with a lot of question marks and a worrying level of private debt, which Abengoa’s crisis has accentuated.
Fernando Barciela |At first sight, Telefonica’s third quarter and nine months to September results couldn’t be better. Between January and September, the company posted a 12% rise in consolidated revenues to 35.4 billion euros. Net income increased by a spectacular 69.6% to 46 billion euros in the same period.
MADRID | June 15, 2015 | By Fernando González Urbaneja| Telefonica’s chairman confirmed the firm’s dividend strategy for the next two years at its recent AGM, subject only to the sale of its UK subsidiary O2.
MADRID | May 19, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Telefonica’s first quarter results show a company which has reorganised over the last year, consolidating positions in its core markets of Europe and Latin America, where three benchmark countries Spain, Brazil and Germany account for two thirds of group income. It has a somewhat uneven presence in another 8 American countries, ranging from Mexico (4% of the business, without being market leader) to Argentina (9% of the business and market leadership).
The Corner | May 14, 2015 | Europe’s second-largest phone company reported a Q1 net profit of €1.8 billion ($2.04 billion), versus a year-ago profit of €688 million. EPS climbed to 0.38 euro from 0.14 euro, while EPS from continuing operations slipped to 0.09 euro from 0.12 euro.
MADRID | April 13, 2015 | Fernando G. Urbaneja | This month Telefónica will complete two capital increases of both the parent company and its Brazilian subsidiary, seen as necessary steps in the reconfiguration of the company following its exit from some markets (Italy and UK) and consolidation in others (Brazil and Germany).
The Corner | March 27, 2015 | The sale by Telefónica of O2 UK will allow the company to focus attention on its growing operation in Germany. Telefonica will now go toe-to-toe with Vodafone and Deutsche Telecom, as the three mobile giants vie for supremacy in the eurozone’s largest economy.