CK Hutchison, a parent company of Italian mobile operator 3 Italia, and VimpelCom, a parent company of WIND, announced they got final approval for their 50:50 joint venture to merge the mobile businesses of 3 Italia and WIND Telecomunicazioni.
The approval from the Ministry of Economic Development (Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico or MISE) in Italy confirms that the deal remains on track and will be complete by the end of the year, the company said in a statement.
The combined entity will deliver major investment into Italy’s digital infrastructure, bring benefits to consumers and businesses across Italy and unlock significant value through synergies, according to an official statement from the company.
In Q2 2016, Vimpelcom invested $306 million, though 34 percent less compared to 2015. The telecom operator has maintained 17 percent as sales to Capex ratio.
Meanwhile WIND invested EUR 192 million during the second quarter, primarily in the expansion of the 4G/LTE network, as well as increasing the capacity and coverage of the existing HSPA+ network. 4G/LTE network now covers 62 percent of the population, up from 56 percent at year-end 2015.
Also read: Telecom Italia makes $3.5 billion investment in nine months
Rajani Baburajan
editor@telecomlead.com
