Vodafone has struck up a deal with the board of German cable TV firm, Kabel Deutschland, to buy its business. We answer five questions on the deal.
How much is Vodafone offering to Kabel Deutschland?
The British telecoms group is offering Kabel Deutschland 7.7bn euros (£6.6bn; $10bn) to buy the business.
That is 87 euros per share in cash.
What has Kabel Deutschland said in response to this offer?
The company has said it will present the offer to its shareholders.
In a statement the German company said it “adequately reflects both the strategic value of Kabel Deutschland to Vodafone and the company’s growth prospects.”
What could the deal do for Vodafone?
The deal marks a change in strategy for the company, which has mostly focused on mobile phone services in Europe. However, if the deal goes through it would give Vodafone access to 32.4m mobile customers, 5m broadband and 7.6m TV customers in Germany.
What has Vodafone said about the deal?
“German consumer and business demand for fast broadband and data services continues to grow substantially as customers increasingly access TV, fixed and mobile broadband services from multiple devices in the home and workplace and on the move,” Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said in a statement on Monday.
“The combination of Vodafone Germany and Kabel Deutschland will greatly enhance our offerings in response to those needs.”
Has any one else put in a rival bid for Kabel Deutschland?
Liberty Global, which owns the UK’s Virgin Media, had also made a preliminary bid. No details of the bid have been released but analysts have said the bid could be in the region of 7.5bn euros (£6.3bn).