Vodafone Spain soars again on the stock market, approaching 7 billion euros.

Zegona, the owner of Vodafone Spain, has soared 7% on the stock market amid rumors of a possible acquisition by Telefónica.

Zegona, the British financial firm that owns 100% of Vodafone Spain, soared today on the London Stock Exchange. Since the telecommunications company Vodafone Spain is its only asset , Zegona 's share price is equivalent to the valuation of Vodafone's business.

Zegona maintains an upward trend on the stock market, but today it soared 7% to 780 pence per share, a new all-time high, although at one point intraday it reached 794 pence. At 780 pence, Zegona 's market capitalization stands at £5.921 billion, which at the exchange rate is £6.939 billion, approaching €7 billion. Zegona agreed at the end of 2023 to acquire Vodafone Spain, which finally closed in June 2024, a year ago, for €5 billion in cash.

The two main factors capitalizing on Zegona 's stock market rally are, first, the possibility that Telefónica is considering acquiring its rival in Spain to consolidate its market and improve its competitive position. Since April 10, when Telefónica's chairman, Marc Murtra, stated at the operator's shareholders' meeting that the telecom consolidation he advocated should begin with acquisitions of other rivals within each market, analysts have focused on Vodafone Spain as a potential acquisition. Since April 10, Zegona's stock, which on April 9 was trading at €580, has risen 200 pence, or 34.5% in just over two months.

On the other hand, the news about the imminent agreement to incorporate a financial partner in the wholesale fiber optic company (a type of firm called fiberco) that Vodafone has created in Spain together with Masorange , and that has been baptized with the code name of Proyecto Surf. Today, the CEO of Masorange, Meinrad Spenger , has confirmed that the selection of the financial investor that should accompany Masorange and Vodafone in the capital is close, since he has indicated that he expects the agreement to be closed in the third quarter, that is, before October.

The full development of this fiberco involves purchasing fiber networks from both Masorange and Vodafone Spain to create a network that covers 12.2 million homes, creating the largest fiberco in Spain and Europe. It also involves retaining the existing 4.5 million customers contributed by both companies for 30 years. For these two transactions, Surf will have to pay its two shareholders, who will also receive the proceeds from the sale of the stake they sell to the financial investor ultimately selected, as well as the debt subscribed by Surf , with which it will pay a dividend to its two shareholders.

The funds Vodafone Spain will receive from the creation of Surf and the entry of the financial partner will allow it to reduce its debt, especially in the area of ​​the €900 million loaned to Zegona by the asset's seller, the British multinational Vodafone Group, when it formalized the sale of the Spanish subsidiary at the end of 2023.