Italy: Russia’s Vimpelcom, Hong Kong’s Hutchison join forces for Italian mobile deal

VimpelCom and Hutchison could announce a deal to merge their respective Italian mobile businesses “as early as this week”, according to Reuters.

The deal, which has been on the cards for years, has reportedly gathered pace in recent weeks and both parties are finally close to agreeing a deal that would combine VimpelCom’s Wind, the country’s third largest operator, with Hutch’s fourth placed 3 Italia.

A 3 Italia-Wind combination in the country would hold approximately one third market share, putting the entity roughly on par with market leader Telecom Italia and second placed Vodafone.

The merger is likely to provide wider benefit to the Italian market, which has been plagued by a long running price war, thus hindering investment by the country’s operators as they continue to cut prices in efforts to win market share.

A Reuters source said Hutch’s managing director Canning Fok has met with VimpelCom executives in London several times this month, and “negotiations have become serious”.

Full content: The Moscow Times

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