Italian telcos Vodafone and Iliad are reportedly considering a merger in a move which would reduce the country’s mobile market from four players to three. A report from Reuters, which cites sources familiar with the matter, says that discussions between the two companies are ongoing. French-owned Iliad is already looking to expand its operations in Italy with the planned launch this week of fibre broadband services to complement its existing mobile business. Vodafone, meanwhile, already leads Italy’s cellular sector in terms of retail and wholesale subscriptions.
Any merger deal would need to be approved by Italian and EC competition regulators. It was the combination of two Italian cellcos, Wind and 3, to create WINDTRE which paved the way for Iliad’s entry into Italy’s mobile market in May 2018.
The discussions come as rival operator Telecom Italia (TIM) considers a EUR10.8 billion (USD12.3 billion) takeover bid from US investment firm KKR. TIM confirmed Pietro Labriola as its new CEO on Friday (21 January).