We thought that we were in the final stretch of the community authorization to the merger of Orange and MásMóvil for the new group to begin operating in the first quarter of 2024, but when one obstacle is solved, another appears along the way. In this case, it is Zegona who wants to take advantage of the merger.
Waiting for the European Commission to authorize the merger of Orange and MásMóvil, something that is closer after the sale of assets to Digi, now a new actor appears in this story that is leaving us headlines practically every week since it was announced the agreement between oranges and yellows. What exactly do you want Zegona, the new owner of Vodafone?
Zegona wants to profit from the merger
A few days ago the agreement by which Digi became the remedy taker of the assets that Orange and MásMóvil were forced to separate. It seemed that with the agreement with the operator of Romanian origin, Brussels would run out of excuses and the merger would finally be given the green light, but now Zegona also wants to be one of the benefiting competitors.
The British fund, the brand new owner of Vodafone Spain, has gotten into the middle of the authorization process claiming something for its own interests. As reported exclusively by El Confidencial, Zegona claims for part of that future MoreOrange (the final name is still unknown) both remedies and being transfer fixed and mobile broadband clientsboth retailers and wholesalers.
Beyond a simple whim or an order with which destabilize the merger and delay the authorization process, it is considered that this would be fairer so that the new group begins on equal terms of competitiveness with the levels of competition prior to the agreement. It must be remembered that this new group between yellow and orange will become the first operator in the Spanish market in number of clients, except for an unexpected disbandment of those it has right now between Orange and MásMóvil.
More customers for Vodafone
Zegona's demands for Vodafone Spain have taken place in the round of contacts that the European Commission has with the rest of the competitors and in which opinions are requested on the competitors affected by the merger. In this procedure known as market test new proposals can be put on the table.
It is here that Zegona has surprised with an unexpected request, taking into account that, although It is the owner of Vodafone Spainthis operation has not yet been approved by the Spanish competition authorities.
If there were to be a transfer of a customer base from Orange and MásMóvil to Vodafone, the red operator could plug a customer drain that has been observed for many months and is confirmed by the latest data from the National Markets and Competition Commission. This would not only apply to private clients, but a transfer of wholesale clients is also requestedcustomers of third-party operators who have rented the Orange or MásMóvil networks, so that they can start using Vodafone's.
The main argument for these demands to the EC has to do with the fact that after the merger of Orange and MásMóvil, Vodafone would lose its current strength as the third operator in the market. It is estimated that in the future both Movistar and Orange-MásMóvil would each have 40% of the market share, while the red operator would only have 20%.