Vodafone share price: Group offers concessions over Dutch deal

Vodafone (LON:VOD) and Liberty Global have offered concessions to European Union regulators in an effort to secure antitrust approval for their plan to merge their Dutch telecoms operations, Reuters has reported. The two companies agreed the deal earlier this year as they look to better compete with local rival KPN.

Vodafone’s share price has been steady in London in today’s session, having gained 0.83 percent to 231.00p as of 09:34 BST. The advance is largely in line with gains in the broader market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index having added 0.76 percent to stand at 6,721.09 points amid expectations that the Bank of England would move to cut rates. The telco’s shares have lost just under three percent of their value over the past year, but have recovered 4.5 percent in the year-to-date.

Reuters reported yesterday that Vodafone and Liberty Global had offered concessions to the European Commission earlier this week to secure antitrust approval for their deal to merge their operations in the Netherlands. The newswire notes that telecoms companies usually offer to divest infrastructure assets to rivals to head off competition concerns.
The EU antitrust authority, which is scheduled to rule on the deal by August 3, is expected to seek feedback from competitors and other interested parties before deciding whether to accept the offer or demand further concessions.
The two telecoms companies announced their plans in February, noting that they would create a 50-50 joint venture offering video, broadband, mobile and B2B services. Vodafone and Liberty said at the time that the transaction was expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.
Vodafone is scheduled to update investors on quarterly performance on July 22.
As of 10:04 BST, Thursday, 14 July, Vodafone Group plc share price is 231.03p.