Banco Sabadell: According to press reports, Telefónica will launch in the coming weeks the process to bring a minority partner into the newly created fibre-optic subsidiary with Vodafone. The information indicates that the new partner would enter with a stake of around 40%, and Telefónica would be left with a majority stake of around 50% (thus leaving around 10% in the hands of Zegona, owner of Vodafone Spain). We recall that in July Telefónica had already announced the creation of this fibre partnership with Vodafone to provide access to around 3.5 million homes in Spain.
Assessment: This is not surprising news if confirmed, since the announcement of the creation of the fibre subsidiary already indicated that it would be open to the entry of other investors. From a strategic point of view, it is in line with the operator’s active portfolio management strategy, as seen in other operations of the company (rural fibre in Spain, for example). From a valuation point of view, the valuation indicated in the article would be in the low range of the €2,500/3,500 million rumoured in the market.
