Welcome back to another edition of M&A Monthly, where TeleGeography’s GlobalComms team tracks the deals that keep the world connected. Here’s everything you need to know about mergers and acquisitions across the global telecom landscape.
(Read last month’s M&A Monthly here.)
Europe
In this month’s most eye-popping transaction, UAE-based e& Group announced the signing of an agreement to sell its entire stake in British telecoms giant Vodafone Group for $5.95 billion. e& confirmed the binding agreement with Vega—an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the Niel family group—to divest its entire shareholding which represents around 16.21% of Vodafone’s share capital and 17.13% of its total voting rights. The e& shares were transferred to mediators on 17 July while the deal awaits regulatory clearance. Once approved, French billionaire Xavier Niel will be the largest shareholder at the UK-based telecoms group.
Mr. Niel—a man never afraid of splashing the cash—has had a busy few weeks, having also boosted his shareholding in Latin America-focused telecoms group Millicom International Cellular (MIC). Niel-backed Atlas Investissement and related parties raised their collective stake in Millicom to 46.7%, with that interest encompassing 78.320 million common shares, of which 77.070 million were already beneficially owned and a further 1.250 million were purchased on 29 June under Amended Equity Derivative Transaction Agreements with an unnamed bank. TeleGeography notes that Atlas acquired an initial 6.99% stake in Millicom in October 2022, before steadily increasing its shareholding.
Niel is also active in his native France, where his Iliad unit has teamed up with rival players Orange France and Bouygues to plot a €20.35 billion ($23.24 billion) joint bid for domestic telecoms operator SFR. The deal will come under French antitrust scrutiny after the European Commission acceded to Iliad’s request to refer the transaction to the local watchdog. The Competition Authority (Autorite de la Concurrence) noted that its investigation is expected to last at least 18 months due to the complexity of the cases and the characteristics of the markets involved. Under the terms of the takeover deal inked in June 2026, Bouygues would acquire the largest share of SFR’s assets, accounting for about 52% of the carved-out revenue, with Iliad taking 27% and Orange 21%.
The board of Telecom Italia (TIM) has unanimously approved Poste Italiane’s voluntary public tender and exchange offer for all of the company’s shares. Poste made its €10.8 billion ($12.3 billion) offer back in March, offering €0.167 in cash plus 0.0218 newly issued Poste shares for each TIM share.
Consolidation in the Swedish fixed broadband sector continues, with Telenor Group agreeing a deal to take control of Bahnhof, which provides fiber broadband to just under 500,000 households. The transaction values Bahnhof at around SEK6.1 billion ($631 million) and will see the enlarged Telenor Sweden take second place in the country’s fixed broadband market. The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed within four to eight months. Bahnhof will continue to operate under its own brand should the takeover conclude successfully.
In the UK, alternative fixed broadband provider Airband, which has deployed a combination of full fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA) networks across parts of England and North Wales, is seeking a buyer after concluding an examination of its business. The ISP stated: ‘Following a strategic review of the business and its future ownership, Airband has commenced a formal sale process to identify the right long-term owner for the company. Airband continues to operate and trade as normal throughout the process. Our network remains fully operational and there is no impact on customer services or day-to-day operations.’
Americas
Over in South America, Claro Peru has agreed to acquire 100% of local fiber provider WOW Tel from Liberty Latin America (LLA) and Narvik Capital Partners for an undisclosed fee. The sale is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Announcing the agreement, LLA noted that the agreement reflects its ‘continued focus on rationalizing its operating portfolio and optimizing capital allocation’. WOW Tel was Peru’s third-largest ISP, after Claro Peru and Integratel Peru (formerly Movistar) at end-2025.
Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, CADE) has approved the R$189 million ($36.7 million) takeover of Oquei Telecom by larger rival Alares Internet ‘without restrictions’. In its assessment, the antitrust agency highlighted that the two ISPs do not have active clients or infrastructure in the same towns and cities, meaning the tie-up does not generate horizontal overlap or vertical integration between the companies. Going forward, the deal still requires approval from the National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel).
Mexican MVNO Diri Telecomunicaciones has announced the takeover of rival players Newww and Mi Movil, with the dual acquisition set to increase its consolidated user base to around half a million. Diri, which first launched MVNO services over the Red Compartida network in April 2020, also owns the PilloFon and Space Movil brands, and co-owns Buzz Movil with brewery giant Grupo Modelo. While the Mi Movil brand will be phased out by the new owner, the Newww brand will be retained.
Rest of the world
Elsewhere, Viva Armenia has closed its previously announced acquisition of local ISP GNC-ALFA, which operates under the OVIO brand. The closing of the deal came a matter of weeks after the Competition Protection Commission (CPC) rubberstamped the transaction in June. The deal—estimated to be worth around USD40 million—was agreed back in May 2025, with Viva’s parent company, Cyprus-registered Fedilco Group, spearheading the takeover. OVIO was previously owned by Rostelecom of Russia.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has confirmed the merger of Telenor Pakistan into Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited (PTML, Ufone), ruling that all assets, property, rights and liabilities of Telenor stand transferred to PTML following which the former would be deemed dissolved. The court noted that the scheme had been unanimously approved by the creditors of both companies and that the financial interests of creditors were safeguarded, adding that the operators had complied with all statutory requirements. Ufone’s parent Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) finalized its takeover of Telenor in late 2025, having initially inked the deal back in December 2023.
Finally, Israel’s Bezeq has confirmed that its mobile unit Pelephone has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of mobile network operator (MNO) WeCom Mobile. Issuing a statement regarding the matter to the Israeli stock exchange, Bezeq confirmed that the total consideration for the transaction is approximately ILS265 million ($88 million) on a cash and debt free basis, subject to adjustments.
Can AI help me stay up-to-date with M&A activity?
We’re glad you asked. If you’re looking for a quick overview and background information on a market, AI is a useful way to get an idea of what’s going on there. But it’s a good idea to double check those findings, as AI often cites sources that are not authoritative and are out-of-date, incomplete, or just plain wrong.
AI tools are great at skimming the internet and sourcing data at lightning speed, but when it comes to telecom data, we often find that the articles cited by AI and fed into its answers are several years out of date—which means the facts, figures, and context to that information is also outdated.
And as people who’ve dedicated our careers to sourcing, collating, and analyzing telecom data, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention AI’s tendency to hallucinate and make up wrong answers (and then backtrack when you call it out).
Take a look at how this plays out in market research.
Data on mobile markets, fixed broadband, fixed voice markets, and more
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