Vimpelcom Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa consolidate Italian assets

Vimpelcom Group of Companies Ltd. signed an agreement with Hutchison Whampoa regarding the merger of the Italian assets of Wind Telecomunicazioni and Three Italia. The current transaction is carried out in the framework of the new plan Vimpelcom Ltd. saving $ 750 million in the next three years, as previously reported by journalists Megamozg. To implement the contract, partners need to conduct a large number of corporate procedures, as well as get approval from regulators, Vedomosti writes . After the closing of the transaction, the combined company Holdco will become the owner of two operators, with a 50% share of partners.

Wind debts will remain in the holding. The supervisory board of the formed company will include six members - three from each of the partners. The head of the board of directors will change every 18 months. According to the CEO of Vimpelcom ltd., The deal should bring 700 mn euros per year.

In analyzing the transaction, Wind is valued at $ 13.9 billion, and Three Italia - at 7.9 billion euros. The total amount of the transaction will be 21.8 billion euros. According to Vimpelcom representatives, this is the largest deal in Italy since 2007.

The subscriber base of the new enterprise will include about 31 million mobile users, plus 2.8 million fixed-line users. Combining the company will save both on capital and operating costs.