Vodafone India plans IPO roll-out (India, UK)
British telecom major Vodafone Group plans to list its Indian venture on local exchanges but hasn’t set any date yet, as said by unit Chief Executive Marten Pieters, as reported by WSJ.
In April 2011, parent Vodafone Group’s chief executive, Vittorio Colao, told a television station that it may consider an initial public offering for the India unit.
Vodafone has been battling Indian tax authorities since it bought Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 67 percent stake in its India venture for $11.2 billion in 2007.
India plans to demand about $3.75 billion in taxes from Vodafone, a senior government official said on May 10. The British company says it isn’t liable to pay taxes on the deal as it was conducted overseas.
Hutchison Whampoa’s $2.6 billion bid for Eircom rejected (Hong Kong, Ireland)
Telecommunications company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s bid of $2.6 billion for Eircom Group, the Irish phone company in supervised credit protection, has been rejected, according to a report by BN.
As per the report, the cash offer by Hutchison’s Three Ireland unit was rejected by the country’s court-appointed examiner because there were too many conditions attached, and that Three Ireland is working on a revised bid.
Further, it is said that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Hutchison, while, Morgan Stanley is Eircom’s adviser.
Hutchison Whampoa net profit crosses $7 billion (Hong Kong)
Telecom company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. reported a net profit of more than double from the past year, owing to significant contributions from the infrastructure and energy businesses. As per reports, the net profit was up $ 7.2 billion from $ 2.6 billion.
Li Ka-shing, Chairman, has said that the company would continue to grow its recurrent earnings and maintain a strong financial position and liquidity in 2012. He claimed that the rate of growth may be slow in the short term owing to measures for controlling inflation.
The company reported a 7 per cent rise in its 3G subscriber base reaching over 31 million.
Vodafone Australia may be up for sale (Australia)
Telecom operator Vodafone Australia may be up for sale, with an information memorandum sent out to potential purchasers in Europe and Asia, as reported by The Australian. The report reveals that an information memorandum has been sent to telecom operators and sovereign wealth funds in Asia and the Middle East, amongst others, in an attempt to gauge the market reaction to the sale.
The telecom operator has reportedly been facing increasing churn levels owing to recent network outages in the past two years. However, in an attempt to resolve the issues, Vodafone has initiated an extensive upgrade of its network infrastructure, so as to offer better customer experience.
Vodafone Australia’s two major shareholders are the Hutchison Whampoa group based in Hong Kong, and the master Vodafone Company, which is based in the UK.
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.
