Vodafone, Liberty Dutch Deal Positive, Moody's Say

LONDON--Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) and Liberty Global PLC's ( LBTYA) joint venture in the Netherlands is credit positive for both companies because it will boost their competitiveness by creating the second-largest integrated player in the Dutch telecommunications market, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

"The creation of a second integrated player will increase competitive pressure on smaller mobile-centric players in the Dutch market," said analyst Ivan Palacios in a statement.

Mr. Palacios also said savings arising from the deal are at the higher end of the range when compared with other similar fixed-to-mobile deals in Europe.

Last week, Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile operator by subscribers after China Mobile Ltd. (0941.HK), said it would pay EUR1 billion ($1.1 billion) to Europe-focused Liberty Global as part of the deal to combine their businesses in the Netherlands.

Liberty said the 50-50 joint venture would be valued at roughly €3.5 billion in terms of combined revenue and capital expenditure, after integration costs.

At 1335 GMT, Vodafone shares rose 1.2% to 216 pence, valuing the company at GBP56.6 billion ($79.8 billion).

 
--Write to Simon Zekaria at [e-mail] 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2016 08:52 ET (13:52 GMT)

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