Today’s Newspaper Cuttings
9 October 2015
Today’s online news Timesofmalta.com Vodafone goes back to basics after Liberty deal goes sour – Vodafone Indirect GO seeks adviser for full sale of company – GO Direct GO appoints Maltese director – GO Direct
Maltatoday.com.mt GO plc asks banks for advice on full sale by Emirates – GO Direct
Maltastar.com Vodafone announces imminent arrival of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus – Vodafone direct GO for sale or not – GO Direct
Newsbook.com.mt Reuters jgħidu li l-kumpanija GO tinsab għall-bejgħ – GO Direct
Vodafone in the news
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Vodafone Direct maltastar.com 6 October 2015 â‚Ź 116
Vodafone announces imminent arrival of iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Tuesday, 06 Oct 2015, 11:50
Vodafone Malta has announced that it will offer the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, the most advanced iPhones ever, beginning on 16th October 2015. Customers can pre-register their interest in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus beginning on 9th October 2015 at
https://www.vodafone.com.mt/register-your-interest. For more information on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus please visit: www.apple.com/iphone.�
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Vodafone Indirect timesofmalta.com 8 October 2015 €
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 00:01 by Reuters
Vodafone goes back to basics after Liberty deal goes sour
Branding for Vodafone on the exterior of a shop in London, Britain. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters With a €107 billion merger with Liberty Global off the table, Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao needs his strategy of higher network investments and acquisitions of European cable companies to start paying off. The mobile operator abandoned talks with John Malone’s Liberty last week over valuation disagreements that would have seen a swap of assets or a broader merger that could have helped Vodafone offer mobile, broadband and TV in its biggest markets. Instead the focus now returns to the unglamorous effort to get revenues and profit growing steadily again, especially in Germany and Spain where Vodafone spent €15 billion buying cable players Kabel Deutschland and Ono to compete with local leaders Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica. In addition to operational progress, several bankers said Vodafone should also move ahead with floating its Indian mobile business, its biggest emerging market holding, so as to show the value within the company. One person familiar with the situation said management focus would now return to running its biggest markets, including attacking the former state-owned monopolies that it competes with on regulatory and commercial fronts. “We really need to see an operational turnaround in Europe in this fiscal year. That is priority number one, two, and three, including the integration of cable assets in Germany and Spain,” said Bruno Grandsard, a portfolio manager at Axa Investment Management, Vodafone’s tenth-biggest shareholder with a one per cent stake. “Then they need to continue to develop an approach to accessing fixed assets in markets where they don’t have them like Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands.” Were Vodafone to make those improvements, it would not only keep investors on side but put the firm in a stronger position for when Liberty comes calling again - as it is expected to do.
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Vodafone Indirect timesofmalta.com 8 October 2015 €
Bankers believe a Vodafone and Liberty deal holds the promise of some €20 billion in cost savings – largely reaped from Britain and Germany – which could draw the pair back to the table in about 12 to 18 months’ time. Another factor is what happens to the relative valuations of telecoms and cable, which could determine who has the upper hand in future talks and whether a largely share-based deal is possible. European telecoms are trading around six to 6.5 times forward earnings for next year, while cable is 8.5 to nine times.
We really need to see an operational turnaround in Europe in this fiscal year People close to both companies said the firms had not yet given up on a deal and were separately examining options for a future attempt. The would-be alliance between one of Europe’s biggest mobile operators and its biggest cable provider is emblematic of the tumult in the industry as carriers in the region increasingly sell all-inclusive bundles of fixed and mobile communications, along with television and broadband. It also comes amidst a wider mergers and acquisitions spree, which has redrawn the map in several markets, and prompted scrutiny from competition regulators who recently blocked a deal over concerns that people would pay higher prices. The move to so-called triple and quad-play bundles, which is most developed in France and Spain and growing in Britain and Germany, also reflects the need operators have for strong fixed networks to carry ballooning mobile data traffic. Vodafone’s answer has been not only to buy up some cable companies, but also to spend €26 billion on upgrading its networks globally. The investment programme dubbed Project Spring has six months left to run. In its biggest market Germany, the carrier has struggled to keep up with Deutsche Telekom. Service revenue dropped 3.2 per cent in the year to March 2015. Strategic errors such as focusing network investments on rural areas rather than urban, and a badly executed plan to sell more mobile contracts directly to consumers rather than through retail partners also caused problems. Nor has the picture been much brighter in Britain where Vodafone could be weakened by a wave of dealmaking. Broadband leader BT has agreed to buy the biggest mobile operator EE, and number four mobile player Hutchison’s 3 is hoping to swallow Telefonica’s 02, which would leave Vodafone in third place in its home market. Vodafone is planning on launching its own pay-TV service in Britain but the offering is likely to be weak in comparison to those offered by BT and market leader Sky. “Vodafone needs to show that quad play works – they spent billions on cable deals, they need to show it was worth it,” a sector banker said. “Usually you need at least two-three years after deals to see if it worked well or not, so the crunch period is coming.” Vodafone’s shares have fallen 4.6 per cent this year. In parallel to the work in Europe, some bankers believe Vodafone must streamline or separate its emerging market businesses, the largest of which are India, South Africa, and Turkey, to facilitate a deal with Liberty, which is only present in Europe and Latin America.
Other stories in the news
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GO Direct maltatoday.com.mt 6 October 2015 € 145
GO plc asks banks for advice on full sale by Emirates
Reuters reports that GO plc is asking for banks’ advice on ‘full sale’ of telecoms company
Jurgen Balzan 6 October 2015, 6:08pm
GO Chairman Deepak Padmanabhan addressing the shareholders during the annual general meeting. Reuters has reported that telecoms operator GO has “invited banks to pitch for the role of advising it on the full sale of the company.” Quoting “sources with knowledge of the matter,” the international news agency carried a report in its daily brief on bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals of companies. The move comes after the company’s majority shareholder, Emirates International Telecommunications Malta Limited (EITML) informed its board of directors of its intention to seek to dispose of its shareholding in the company in the short term. EITML – a subsidiary of Dubai-based Emirates International Telecommunications LLC (EIT) – owns 60% of GO plc. In a stock exchange announcement in July, GO said it would be making further announcements as and when required by listing rules.
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GO Direct maltatoday.com.mt 6 October 2015 € 145
EITML has stakes in du, Axiom Telecom, and Interoute, and serves as the primary telecoms investment vehicle for Dubai Holding – the global investment company owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In July’s annual meeting, GO shareholders endorsed the spin-off of a subsidiary, Malta Properties Limited (MPL), into a separate, and publicly listed, entity focused on the property management of various parcels of land devolved to it by the government. Based on a recent report carried out by firm Architecture Project, MPL’s property portfolio, covering 11 different sites, is valued at nearly €53 million. “The spin-off of MPL will allow GO to focus on its main business of communication while MPL focuses on maximising long-term value for our shareholders from the Company’s extensive property portfolio,” MPL chief executive Nikhil Patil said. As a result of the MPL spin-off, all GO shareholders will receive exactly the same number of shares in the new entity as they currently own in GO. A representative from HSBC Malta plc asked the board of directors during the EG whether it was EITL’s intention to also dispose of the shares in the spin-off company. Chairman Deepak Padmanabhan, who is appointed by EITML, replied that issues of shareholder intentions would not be answered by the board of directors. Observers were surprised at the speculative question from a representative of a leading financial institution, since it is not customary for HSBC to participate actively in the general meetings of other listed companies.
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Go Direct maltastar.com 7 October 2015 â‚Ź 116
GO for sale or not Wednesday, 07 Oct 2015, 12:40
Telecommunications company GO Plc is reported to be in the process of seeking a buyer according to Times of Malta. When contacted a spokesman for GO said the company had "no comment".
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Go Direct newsbook.com.mt 7 October 2015 € 120
Reuters jgħidu li l-kumpanija GO tinsab għall-bejgħ Jesmar Baldacchino - 06/10/15 07:27 PM
L-aġenzija internazzjonali tal-aħbarijiet Reuters qed tirrapporta li l-kumpanija GO stiednet lill-banek biex jagħtuha pariri dwar il-bejgħ tal-kumpanija. Reuters qed isostnu li kienu sorsi b’esperjenza f’dan il-qasam li għaddew l-informazzjoni bil-kundizzjoni li jibqgħu anonimi, għaliex skont ir-rapport din l-informazzjoni mhix pubblika. Fis-sit elettroniku, Reuters qalu li l-kumpanija GO naqset li tikkummenta dwar dan. F’Lulju tas-sena li għaddiet, l-investituri Dubai Holdings kienu ħabbru li kienu se jirtiraw mis-60% li għandhom fil-kumpanija GO. Sorsi li tkellmu ma’ Newsbook.com.mt qalu li l-kumpanija Ċiniża Huawei tista’ tkun interessata fis-sehem li kellhom Dubai Holdings jew fix-xiri tal-kumpanija kollha. Għaldaqstant għall-mistoqsijiet ta’ Newsbook.com.mt, il-kelliema ta’ Huawei Giovanni Scambia ċaħad li fil-preżent hemm xi żviluppi ġodda fl-investiment, li l-kumpanija Ċiniża lesta li tagħmel f’Malta wara l-iffirmar f’Lulju li għadda, tal-memorandum of understanding tat-testijiet tal-5G. Matul l-ewwel sitt xhur ta’ din is-sena, l-kumpanija GO irrappurtat dħul ta’ €60.7 miljun.
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GO Direct timesofmalta.com 7 October 2015 € 230
Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 07:23 by
Reuters GO seeks adviser for full sale of company Telecoms company GO has invited banks to pitch for the role of advising it on the full sale of the company, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The invitation was sent out to international investment banks and specialist advisory firms around the beginning of September, the sources said speaking on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public. GO declined to comment. However, in a company announcement dated Sept. 16 which invited investors to a meeting on October 29, GO said it wanted approval from shareholders to seek bids for the company's entire issued share capital. Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT) announced in July it planned to sell its 60 percent stake in GO. Shares in GO closed Monday at €3.45 each, close to the near-six-year high achieved in July of €3.6 per share, according to stock exchange data. Monday's closing price valued the operator at around €2.07 billion, according to Reuters calculations, with bourse data giving the firm a price-to-earnings ratio of 24 times at the end of September. GO reported revenue of €60.7 million in the first half of 2015, flat to the same period a year earlier.
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GO Direct timesofmalta.com 8 October 2015 â‚Ź 230
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 00:01
GO appoints Maltese director Brigitte Zammit has been appointed a non-executive director at GO, replacing Yasser Zeineldin. Dr Zammit is general counsel and head of legal and regulatory affairs for Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT) with over 14 years of experience as a legal professional. Prior to joining EIT in 2008, she worked in private practice with law firms in London and Malta, advising private and public international and local clients on M&A, telecoms, media, online gambling, data protection and related corporate law matters. She is academically involved as a lecturer and examiner with the University of London and has also in the past been similarly involved with the Universities of Beijing and Malta.