Swisscom has agreed to buy Vodafone Italia for €8-billion (R163-billion) and merge the carrier with its own Fastweb business, fending off rival bidders including French billionaire Xavier Niel.

The Swiss operator will finance the acquisition through cash.

Vodafone, which controls South African-headquartered Vodacom Group, preferred Swisscom’s bid over a previous proposal from Niel’s Iliad because it has a larger cash component.

In a separate statement, Vodafone said it will be returning €4-billion to shareholders via stock buybacks.

Vodafone Italia and Fastweb are the country’s second- and fourth-biggest operators, respectively, with combined sales of about €7-billion annually.

Read: Vodafone plays it safe, picks insider as new CEO

Italy accounts about 11% of Vodafone’s revenue and is its largest market after Germany and the UK.  — Edwin Chan, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP

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