Vodafone agrees €30bn Romanian deal

(Sharecast News) - Vodafone Group is to ramp up its presence in Romania, the London-listed telecoms giant confirmed on Friday, after striking a €30m deal with Hellenic Telecommunications Organization. The blue chip said Vodafone Romania and rival Digi Romania had entered into binding agreements with the Greek company.

Under the deal, Vodafone will acquire parts of Hellenic's subsidiary, Telekom Romania Mobile Communications (TRMC) - Romania's fourth-largest operator with around 3.8m subscribers - and its post-paid customer base for €30m.

Digi, meanwhile, has agreed to acquired its pre-paid customer business.

Both companies will also gain additional spectrum and towers under the deal.

As at 1130 BST, shares in Vodafone were up 2% at 86p.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone chief executive, said: "This transaction strengthens our position in Romania by increasing our local scale and unlocking significant synergy benefits.

"It supports our strategy of building strong positions in growing markets, which enables us to invest in high-quality networks."

The deal, which will reduce the number of operators in Romania to three, is due to complete next month. The three parties first started discussions just under a year ago.

Hellenic has been looking to offload its Romanian assets for some time.