Not even a year ago we were speculating about the possible merger of Vodafone Spain with MásMóvil or, even, about the purchase of the former by the latter. But those rumors, which had been circulating since 2019, were closed with a stroke of the pen with the agreement between Orange and the MásMóvil Group announced in March.
That left Vodafone in no man’s land, which had repeatedly reiterated its intentions to work actively for consolidation in Spain and which, overnight, was left without a dance partner. That heading adrift of the Spanish subsidiary It has worsened at the beginning of 2023 with the resignation of its CEO, a resignation that comes just a month after that of the CEO of the Group. Many dark clouds fly over Vodafone, but all is not lost in our country.
Objective: to redirect the business in our country
The news shook the Spanish telecommunications market at the beginning of March: Orange Spain and the MásMóvil Group began their negotiations to merge. That negotiation was exclusive, so the agreement prevented them from talking to another operator and Vodafone was left out of everything.
Colmann Deegan, current CEO of Vodafone Spain
The operation, when it materializes, will generate a communications giant that will mark an enormous distance with the third largest telecommunications company in the country. In other words, Vodafone will maintain its third-party status in Spain (a position that MásMóvil has been caressing for some time), but at the cost of staying light years behind the second. And be careful with Digi, which has been going strong and could benefit from the fusion remedies.
After the merger, Vodafone will maintain its status as the third operator in Spain, but at the cost of remaining light years behind the second.
The financial results have not accompanied Vodafone Spain either. In the first quarter of the year, it lost customers and reduced its service revenue, although it managed to salvage total revenue for the fiscal year. We saw a similar situation in the second and third quarters of 2022, where service revenues and the customer base continued to decline. The fall, yes, is no longer as pronounced as in previous years and Lowi continues to act as a lifeguard.
The company need to grow back in Spain and this has been recognized in the official statement on the resignation of Colman Deegan, who will cease to be CEO of Vodafone Spain on March 31 after just over two years in office. Vodafone has started a process to select a new CEO for the subsidiary in our country, which yesterday joined the European Cluster, thus losing relevance for the Group.
This resignation, which has taken many of us by surprise, joins the departure of Nick Read, who left the position of CEO of the Group on December 31. Margherita Della Valle has been appointed as interim CEO while Vodafone searches for the company’s new CEO. This without forgetting the confirmation, this week, of the sale of Vodafone Hungary to 4iG and Corvinus for 1,700 million euros.
Nick Read, ex CEO de Vodafone Group
We therefore have a company immersed in a process of simplification who has been left without a CEO at the national and global level.
Does that mean that Vodafone Spain could suffer the same fate as Vodafone Hungary? The results are not consistent, but the entry into new business sectors (energy and health, among them) and the decision to centralize its data platform in Spain for 11 other countries, invite us to think otherwise.
The acquisition of spectrum is another guarantee of commitment to the future for Spain because there is no doubt that Vodafone plans to continue investing in networks. But one thing is clear, the new CEO will have to deal with the possibility of selling the fiber/HFC network and finally monetizing the value of its infrastructures.
And at the same time, redirect the business while watching how a new telecommunications giant (Orange/MásMóvil) is born in our country. A difficult challenge, we will see who is chosen to face it.
Images | vodafone
