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According to the firm, the stake was bought from an unnamed private investor 

Mexican telco América Móvil has increased its share in A1 Telekom Austria Group by 5.55%, taking its total shareholding to 56.55% 

América Móvil, owned by billionaire businessman Carlos Slim, purchased the majority share (51%) of A1 Telekom Austria in 2014. At the time, the remaining shareholders in the Austrian telco were ÖBAG (28.4%), institutional investors (14.7%), retail (3.3%), and others (2.6%). 

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.  

“Telekom Austria is a core investment for América Móvil. We are very satisfied with the overall development of the company, a top performer amongst its European peers over the last several years,” said América Móvil CFO Carlos García Moreno. 

The share price of A1 Telekom Austria rose 1.04% on the announcement. 

For América Móvil, this stake increase comes at a time of increasing commitment to the Austrian market, including plans to accelerate A1’s Telkom’s rollout of both 5G and fibre.  

In parallel with these network expansions, América Móvil is also moving to monetise the Austrian’s business’s passive assets. In February this year, América Móvil reached a deal with ÖBAG to separate A1 Telekom Austria Group’s tower infrastructure unit into an independent company, named EuroTeleSites AG.  

America Movil closed a €500 million loan and launched a €500 million bond to fully fund the new tower company at the time of the spin off, with the intention of listing the company on the Vienna Stock Exchange later this year. 

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Upon completion, the new company is set to become the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region 

Qatar’s largest telecom company Ooredoo, Dubai’s TASC Towers and Kuwait-based Zain Group have begun talks to potentially combine their mobile tower assets into a jointly owned independent company that would cover six countries in the Middle East and North Africa. 

The potential joint venture would include around 30,000 towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, and Jordan, and will focus on delivering “operational efficiency, synergy, and a carbon footprint reduction”. 

The new independent tower company “will provide passive infrastructure-as-a-service throughout the region with a focus on operational efficiencies, synergies, and reduction of carbon footprint,” according to the joint press release. 

“Both Ooredoo and Zain will retain their respective active infrastructure, including wireless communication antennas, intelligent software, and intellectual property with respect to managing their telecom networks,” the statement added.  

According to the operators, this new, more efficient capital structure will add shareholder value for both groups. 

If negotiations continue, the signing of the cash and share deal is expected to take place during the third quarter of this year, subject to the typical regulatory approvals.  

The ownership breakdown of the venture is currently undecided as the deal is in its preliminary stages. 

Ooredoo’s revenue hit QAR 23 billion in 2022 ($6.2 billion) and has seen further growth in the first quarter of this year, with a 2% revenue increase between January and March. The company operates in eight countries in the MENA region, as well as in the Maldives and Indonesia.  

Zain is Kuwait’s leading operator, providing services to around 53 million customers across seven countries. 

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Also in the news:
Ooredoo Oman preparing sale of tower assets
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Connected devices include smart metres, smart bikes, asset tracking sensors, and vehicle telematics

This week, Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel has announced that it has connected over 20 million devices to its IoT platform.

Launched by the company’s B2B division Airtel Business back in 2021, Airtel IoT has quickly accrued more than 8000 enterprise customers in the past two years, according to the company website. This includes companies in numerous major industries, including automobile, energy, utilities, logistics, financial services, and manufacturing.

The IoT platform supports a range of connectivity technologies, such as 5G, 4G, NB-IoT, 2G and satellite, and allows enterprises a centralised portal to manage their IoT device portfolios. This Airtel IoT Hub can provide real time analytics, including data usage and sensor activity.

According to Airtel, the company has been helped to reach the new device milestone by a number of major deals, including a contract with Secure Meters to help power 1.3 million smart metres in the state of Bihar, another with government-backed joint venture TP Western Odisha Distribution for 200,000 smart metres in Odisha, and a deal with Matter Motor Works for 300,000 smart bikes.

“IoT is a key pillar in India’s digital growth journey and, as a brand powering this journey with our future-ready technology solutions for connected devices, we are delighted to achieve this significant milestone of 20 million connected devices on our platform,” said Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Airtel Business (India) said. “With efficient and cost-effective automated IoT solutions, we are at the forefront of empowering enterprises to extend their reach to the remotest parts of the country on our secure platform as they scale their businesses.”

The global IoT market is growing rapidly worldwide, with some sources suggesting the total number of connected devices will reach 16.7 billion this year.

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The cuts are the first since the telecoms company was created in 2021 

Following the publication of their Q2 results today, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced that it will cut nearly 11% of its total workforce by the end of the year. 

Around 2,000 jobs will be cut in total, confirming rumours that were reported earlier this year. 

The losses come just over two years after VMO2 was formed in a £31 billion merger, which has left the newly formed company over £20 billion in debt. 

“As we continue to integrate and transform as a company, we are currently consulting on proposals to simplify our operating model to better deliver for customers, which will see a reduction in some roles this year,” a spokesman for the company said earlier today. 

The quarterly report confirmed the loss of 24,700 fixed line customers and 1,500 mobile subscribers. The customer losses are likely due to price increases that came into effect in April, combined with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.  

These price rises contributed to a 6.2% year-on-year revenue increase, with total revenue reaching £2.71 billion despite customer losses. 

“As we navigate a tough economic climate, we have a clear long-term strategy and continue to deliver for customers,” said VMO2 CEO Lutz Schüler. 

“Amidst higher costs, rising usage and continued investment, we executed necessary price increases in line with our expectations with the impact starting to flow through to our Q2 revenue and EBITDA growth.” 

The move follows in the footsteps of its major rivals, as BT announced in May that it will cut 55,000 jobs before 2030. CEO Phillip Jansen, who recently confirmed he will step down next year, told investors he expects that AI to replace around 10,000 of the roles. 

Vodafone has also announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs over the next three years in an effort to recover from its recent poor financial performance.  

Speaking on the numerous recent cuts, analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight noted that: “We’ve seen a correction in workforce across all sectors, most notably big tech. We are now starting to see this transcend into other verticals. Telco is not immune and with significant technological developments around the corner; this will further fuel job cuts.” 

How have recent job cuts impacted the UK’s telecoms industry?  Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain conference 

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