‘Excessive fragmentation’: Vodafone in €8bn Italy exit as CEO searches for profits

The CEO of Vodafone has bemoaned the ‘excessive fragmentation’ of European telecoms markets as Italy became the latest country the firm has exited after it reached an €8 billion deal with rival Swisscom. The all-cash deal, which Vodafone said was the highest multiple of any of their market transactions in the past decade will see create Italy's second-biggest fixed-line broadband operator behind TIM and follows Vodafone’s €5 billion sale of its Spanish operations and proposed merger with the UK’s Three announced last year. Vodafone said the sale would allow it to focus on more profitable markets with stronger and more ‘predictable’ growth opportunities.