HONG KONG and AMSTERDAM, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/
--
- European Commission approves CK Hutchison and VimpelCom
joint venture that will own and operate their telecommunications
businesses in Italy to create the
leading mobile operator
- Joint venture will unlock €7 billion of investment in
Italy's digital infrastructure,
supporting growth and jobs across the country
- Businesses and consumers will benefit from significantly
increased download speeds and 4G/LTE coverage, greater reliability
and stronger competition
CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. ("CK Hutchison"), parent company
of 3 Italia S.p.A. ("3 Italia"), and VimpelCom Ltd.
("VimpelCom"), parent company of Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.
("WIND"), today welcomed the European Commission's decision to
approve the 50/50 joint venture that will create the leading mobile
operator in Italy.
The combined business of 3 Italia and WIND will have over
31 million mobile customers and 2.8 million fixed line customers
(of which 2.5 million are fixed broadband customers). The joint
venture will create a stronger new operator in Italy, drive competition and support the rapid
changes in the market as demand for data and digital services
increases.
The scale and financial strength of the combined business, which
will include 21,000 network sites and strong spectrum assets, will
enable the company to provide world-class telecoms services to
businesses and consumers across Italy. Customers will enjoy significantly
improved coverage, accelerated 4G/LTE mobile broadband rollout,
greater reliability and enhanced download speeds. The combined
business will benefit from scale and synergies which will unlock €7
billion of investment in Italy's
digital infrastructure. Further, its delivery of mobile broadband
will play an important part in supporting the Italian government's
goal in its Digital Italy Plan to achieve 85% take-up of 100Mbps
broadband coverage by 2020. The investment will also complement the
Enel Open Fibre project already supported by WIND.
Commenting on the Commission's approval, Canning Fok, CK
Hutchison Group Co-Managing Director, said: "Today is a good day
for businesses and consumers across Italy. This joint venture will unlock major
investment in Italy's digital
infrastructure, creating a telecoms company with the scale and
strength to offer world-leading telecoms services with greater
reliability, coverage and speed. The joint venture will ensure
Europe's fourth largest telecoms
market remains a leading player in the global digital economy."
Jean-Yves Charlier, Chief
Executive Officer of VimpelCom, said: "The merger will create a
leading and financially solid mobile operator in Italy that will benefit from substantial
synergies of combining the #3 and #4 operators in the marketplace.
The joint venture will also benefit from a healthier debt profile
and will be in a position to deliver solid deleveraging in the
medium term. On completion, the combined business will not only be
good for consumers, businesses and the economy in Italy but will also deliver long-term value to
its shareholders."
The combined business is expected to generate significant capex
and opex benefits with a net present value, less integration costs,
in excess of €5 billion. The joint revenue of both companies in
FY15 was €6.25 billion and the transaction is one of the largest
M&A transactions to be done in Italy since 2007. Completion is subject
to obtaining national regulatory approvals. It is expected that the
transaction will complete in Q4 2016.
About CK Hutchison
CK Hutchison is a multi-national conglomerate headquartered in
Hong Kong and listed on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange Limited with 270,000 employees in over 50
countries. CK Hutchison has five core businesses: ports and related
services, retail, infrastructure, energy and telecommunications.
The telecommunications division includes mobile and fixed line
operations in Hong Kong and
Macau, mobile operations in
Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri
Lanka, and in Europe,
mobile operations in Austria,
Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden
and the United Kingdom.
For more information visit: www.ckh.com.hk
About VimpelCom Ltd.
VimpelCom (NASDAQ: VIP) is an international communications and
technology company, headquartered in Amsterdam, and driven by a vision to unlock
new opportunities for customers as they navigate the digital world.
Present in some of the world's most dynamic markets, VimpelCom
provides more than 200 million customers with voice, fixed
broadband, data and digital services. VimpelCom's heritage as a
pioneer in technology is the driving force behind a major
transformation focused on bringing the digital world to each and
every customer. VimpelCom offers services to customers in 14
markets including Russia,
Italy, Algeria, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Laos, and Zimbabwe. VimpelCom, whose licenses cover 10%
of the world's population, operates under the "Beeline", "WIND",
"Djezzy", "Mobilink", "Kyivstar", "banglalink" and "Telecel"
brands. Follow us on Twitter @VimpelCom,
visit blog.vimpelcom.com or visit our
website www.vimpelcom.com.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking
statements
This release contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts, and include statements
regarding the transaction described above and the expected timing,
benefits and completion of such transaction. Any statement in this
announcement that expresses or implies VimpelCom's or CK
Hutchison's intentions, beliefs, expectations or predictions (and
the assumptions underlying them) is a forward-looking statement.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks, uncertainties
and assumptions, including, without limitation, the possibility
that the requisite regulatory approvals will not be obtained or
will be obtained on terms not acceptable to the parties and the
transaction, and its expected benefits, may not materialize as
expected or at all. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or
such assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements and assumptions. Certain other risks that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any
forward-looking statements include the risk factors described in
VimpelCom's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2015, and other public
filings made by VimpelCom with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement are made as of the date hereof, and VimpelCom and CK
Hutchison each expressly disclaims any obligation to update or
correct any forward-looking statements made herein due to the
occurrence of events after the issuance of this release.
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SOURCE VimpelCom Ltd.