Telefonica and KPN to re-examine options for German collaboration

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is reportedly set to reopen discussions with Netherlands-based KPN Telecom (or Royal KPN as it is also known) with a view to considering ways in which the two companies’ respective German subsidiaries could work together. According to the Financial Times, the two respective parent companies of O2 Germany and E-Plus Mobilfunk are expected to discuss the possibility of network sharing. However, it is noted that any proposals are likely to be delayed until after the completion of a USD3 billion rights issue by KPN. While a merger of the two German cellcos is not thought to have been ruled out entirely, it has been claimed that a network sharing agreement between O2 Germany and E-Plus is now the most likely means of collaboration between the pair.