Hutchison to buy Orange Austria for US$ 1.7 billion (Hong Kong, Austria)
Hutchison Whampoa has finalized plans to purchase Orange Austria in a bid to enhance its presence in the country. According to reports, the deal valued at US$ 1.7 billion, is an attempt by the operator to increase its market share in the European telecom sector.
As per a statement made by the company, Hutchison Whampoa will divest its assets to Telekom Austria for US$ 514 million. Further, the assets currently owned by Orange Austria include some frequencies, base station sites, intellectual property rights and Orange Austria’s local discount operator Yesss! Telekommunikation GmbH. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2012, and will be financed out of Telekom Austria’s existing cash flow.
According to sources, the deal is beneficial for France Telecom as it enables the operator to concentrate its activities on emerging markets such as Middle East and Africa.
Hutchison Whampoa may acquire Orange Austria (Europe)
Hutchison Whampoa, Hong Kong based conglomerate may reportedly be in talks to acquire Austrian mobile operator, Orange Austria, owned by France Telecom and private equity firm Mid Europa Partners. As per reports, Hutchison, which operates in Austria through its subsidiary 3, aims to acquire Orange by this year.
Sources claim that a deal between these two operators, would compbine the third and fourth largest telecom players in the country, after Telekom Austria AG and T-Mobile Austria (Deutsche Telekom AG). As per company reports, France Telecom has a stake of 35 percent in Orange Austria with the remaining 65percent being controlled by Mid Europa Partners.
Initial valuation of 4G services at US$3.3bn (Italy)
The Italian government has reportedly received early offers totaling $ 3.3 billion for its 4G mobile frequencies to be auctioned this week. 4G technology provides a comprehensive and secure IP (Internet Protocol) solution, allowing users to access high quality video streaming along with voice and data at a much higher speed than previous generations.
As per reports, some of the operators that have put in their offers include Telecom Italia SpA, Vodafone Group Plc, Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A of VimpelCom Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 3 Italia.
ZTE to provide LTE Networks in Sweden and Denmark
ZTE has stated that it has won a contract to deploy the world’s first LTE TDD/FDD dual-mode networks in Sweden and Denmark on behalf of 3G network operator, Hi3G. As part of the deal, ZTE will also deliver 3G infrastructure equipment to upgrade the operator’s 3G network.
Hi3G Access is a 60:40 joint venture between Hong Kong’s Hutchison-Whampoa and Sweden’s Investor AB.
According to Peder Ramel, CEO at Hi3G, they have chosen ZTE for additional 3G 900/2100 rollout and for LTE mobile broadband networks in Sweden and Denmark because of the possibility to house three different mobile standards in the same physical infrastructure and the low cost of ownership. Furthermore, ZTE advanced LTE dual-mode solutions and quick consignment responses really meet our requirements.
Hi3G will exploit its spectrum resources by rolling out two versions of LTE. The two versions are usually referred to as Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). The main benefit of the TDD version is that it can make full use of TDD spectrums to maximize data throughout and enhance user experience. Hi3G has acquired 50MHz of TDD spectrum in Sweden and 25 MHz of TDD spectrum in Denmark.
The TDD version of LTE is also used in other parts of the world, for example China. The use of TDD LTE by China will facilitate the world-wide availability of TDD LTE terminals.
Hutchison Port to raise $5.4 bn in Singapore listing
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust is reportedly planning to raise US$5.4 billion in a Singapore listing, making it the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in Southeast Asia.
Owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, the trust will own port assets in Hong Kong and mainland China under Li’s Hutchison Whampoa.
Cornerstone investors include Capital Research & Management, Paulson & Co and Lone Pine Capital who will invest US$634 million, US$350 million and US$186 million in the IPO, respectively.
The last offering of this scale in Singapore was Singapore Telecommunications, which raised US$4 billion in 1993. Hutchison, which also operates the Watson’s drugstore chain as well property and telecom assets, is listing its port assets in Singapore because trusts cannot be listed in Hong Kong.
Hutchison Whampoa Eyeing Expansion in 4G Telecom Market
Hutchison Whampoa Limited a company chaired by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, is looking to deploy its business in the potentially-huge 4G telecom market when its 3G operation is making a turnaround.
Hutchison 3G (Hi3G), a 3G telecom service unit of Hutchison Whampoa, has entered into a contract with ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. for the commercial operation of long-term evolution (LTE) network.
Under the contract, the two leading telecom equipment makers will deploy 2.6GHz LTE TDD/FDD networks in Sweden and Denmark for Hi3G, according to Hutchison Whampoa, noting that it is the first time that the Hutchison 3G unit has made its push into the LTE technology arena heard.
The cooperation between Hi3G and Huawei and ZTE signals a debut of Chinese power in the global 4G market, pointed out market observers. The advanced 4G technologies including LTE have been winning increasing favor of mobile telecom operators around the world, although it has been a short time since the 3G technology was put into commercial operation.
The presence of Hi3G in the LTE business makes Sweden the first country in the world to set up an extensive LTE network. Telenor Group and Tele2, two telecom operators in Europe, have unveiled plans to expand the LTE network that they are operating to 100 new localities within 18 months.
Telenor Group and Tele2 worked together to set up Net4Mobility, a joint venture in Sweden, in an attempt to fight against TeliaSonera AB, the biggest telecom operator in the country. TeliaSonera, which rolled out LTE services in 2009, has made the service available in 28 cities and skiing resorts in Sweden.
The fast-growing demand for mobile Internet will pave the way for Hutchison Whampoa to make a push in the 4G market, said market observers. The Hong Kong-based company saw its 3G business expand continuously in the wake of a brisk growth in mobile Internet user number.
Such a speedy expansion, according to some analysts, is boosted by a widely adoption of intelligent terminals such as iPhone4, iPad, and other smartphones. Hutchison Whampoa, which has poured tens of billions of US dollars into the 3G operation since 2000, had had more than 20 million 3G users by 2009.
A total of 17 telecom operators in the world have launched commercial LTE services by far, said Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), predicting that the number is likely to touch 64 by the end of 2012.
3UK head criticizes spectrum allocation ruling
Kevin Russell, chief executive of 3 UK, has indicated that his business could be sold after accusing ministers and regulators of distorting competition in the telecoms industry.
He criticized a decision by regulators to let the operator’s larger rivals reallocate some of their radio spectrum from basic phone services to data activities such as internet browsing.
The Hutchison Whampoa-owned operator is seeking guarantees that it will have a fair chance of securing a significant chunk of low-frequency spectrum in an auction due next year.
The company wants Ofcom, the telecoms regulator to draw up auction rules that cap the amount of spectrum that any operator can hold.
Without this, 3 doubts that O2 and Vodafone could end up holding the bulk of the spectrum available at a bandwidth below one gigahertz. Everything Everywhere, the largest network operator, has similar concerns to 3.
Low frequency spectrum below one gigahertz is suitable for expanding 3G services to rural areas because wireless signals travel long distances on it.
Like other rival companies, 3 needs spectrum to support bandwidth-hungry smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone.
Mr Russell criticized Ofcom after the regulator stated that Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone could reallocate spectrum currently used for 2G phone and text services to 3G data activities. According to him, healthy competition is critical for UK consumers using mobile services and Ofcom and the government must address the significant competitive distortions they have now created in pushing through the reform of spectrum currently used for 2G mobile services. This can only be done through the structure of the spectrum auction planned for 2012.
Mr Russell highlighted how the merger last year between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, to create Everything Everywhere, had already reduced the number of network operators from five to four. If the government and Ofcom get this wrong, further consolidation could result. Ultimately that can only be bad, not good, for UK consumers.
Bombay High Court postpones Vodafone tax hearing (India)
The Vodafone spokesperson has revealed that the Bombay High Court has postponed the hearing of Vodafone Plc’s petition to February 8, 2011, which was against a move by Indian tax office to treat it as an agent of the seller in its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s mobile business in India.
Vodafone had filed a writ with the court on October 15, saying the tax office’s move to treat the company as an agent of the seller was an unusual move.
Facebook working on two Smartphones: Reports
If reports are to be believed, Facebook is working with mobile phone maker INQ Mobile Ltd to create two smartphone devices that may have a network tie up with AT&T Inc.
According to sources, the devices, which will feature Facebook social-networking services, are due to be introduced in Europe in the first half of 2011 and in the U.S. in the second half. AT&T, the second-largest U.S. wireless service provider, is still considering whether to carry the devices and haven’t made a deal yet.
According to Jaime Schopflin, a spokesman for Facebook, the company’s current projects included deeper integrations with some manufacturers.
According to the company, it continues to work with INQ Mobile, which has previously sold phones with Facebook features, along with other companies.
INQ Mobile, which is based in London and is backed by Hong Kong telecom firm Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.
