UPDATE Vodafone Group Plc announced that publicly held 4iG and Corvinus International Investment, a Hungarian state holding company, have completed due diligence and the parties have entered into a binding agreement for the sale of 100 percent of Vodafone Magyarország Zrt (Vodafone Hungary) to 4iG and Corvinus. Vodafone will receive a total cash consideration of $1.8 billion which represents a multiple of 8.4x Adjusted EBITDAaL* for the 12-month period ended March 31, 2022. Vodafone will use the proceeds from the sale to deleverage its operations in Hungary.
4iG will hold a 51 percent stake in Vodafone Hungary with Corvinus owning the balance. 4iG Chairman Gellert Jaszai praised the deal saying it would improve competitiveness in the industry and “accelerate the digital transformation of the economy [of Hungary].” The acquisition is part of 4iG’s ambition to push converged communications services following its 2021 purchase of Digi Hungary’s fixed wireline and pay-TV assets from Romanian-based Digi Communications.
“This combination establishes a scaled converged operator across mobile and fixed communications and supports the Hungarian government’s goal of creating a national Information and Communications Technology champion,” comments Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group’s interim CEO. “The combined entity will increase competition and accelerate investment in the ongoing digitalization of Hungary.”
GSMA Intelligence estimates that Vodafone Hungary had almost 3 million connections at the end of Q4 2022, making it the second-largest mobile player behind Deutsche Telekom’s local unit Magyar Telecom, with 5.2 million connections for the same period.
The transaction is expected to complete by the end of January, subject to customary closing terms and conditions.
*EBITDA plus consolidated losses from sale or abandonment of property, plant and equipment
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