Virgin Mobile France to acquire Tele2 Mobile France
Virgin Mobile France, of which Carphone Warehouse Group PLC owns 48.5 per cent, has today agreed to acquire Tele2 France for a cash consideration of €56m on a debt free basis.
Tele2 France has approximately 385,000 customers, of which 375,000 customers are post pay. Following the transaction, Virgin Mobile France will have more than 1.6 million customers, of which 60% are post pay customers, consolidating its position as France’s largest MVNO and the fourth largest mobile operator.
The Tele2 France deal marks a major step forward in Virgin Mobile’s growth plans in France and will help it progress towards its target of being profitable during 2010 and its ambition of having more than 2 million customers.
The acquisition will allow Virgin Mobile to reduce its operating costs by strengthening its relationship with the network operators, and will also help cut costs and drive major economies of scale. The acquisition is conditional on the approval of the French anti-trust authorities.
