Three buys O2 Ireland for 850million Euros

wilt · 24-06-2013, 09:18

Wow, didn't expect this...

http://pressoffice.telefonica.com/do...g_24062013.pdf

enapace · 24-06-2013, 09:54

I had heard word that three wanted to buy 02 Ireland and that they were considering selling but wasn't aware that the talks were at this stage. Will certainly grant three more spectrum and customers.

psionic · 24-06-2013, 10:03

Looks like they're just freeing up funds. So far this year they've sold their broadband and landline business to Sky, outsourced call centres to Capita and now sold O2 Ireland to 3.

japaul · 24-06-2013, 10:35

This deal has been talked about quite a bit over the past few months so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Telefonica is trying to reduce it's debt by a few billion by the end of the year so this helps with that.

For 3 it makes sense as they've really struggled in Ireland because of their scale. They are still making losses after 8 years and tried to buy Eircom last year. Combined with O2 they'll be almost equal in size to Vodafone.

The Lord Lucan · 24-06-2013, 11:02

This is a positive thing for both Three, O2 and the customers in Eire.

enapace · 24-06-2013, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lord Lucan

This is a positive thing for both Three, O2 and the customers in Eire.

Agreed it is a smaller market then others but deserves to be competitive and reliable to customers.

The Lord Lucan · 24-06-2013, 11:35

I wonder how it will affect the O2Ir & Meteor's Mosaic project and ThreeIr's 2G Roaming agreement with VodaIr.

japaul · 24-06-2013, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by enapace

Agreed it is a smaller market then others but deserves to be competitive and reliable to customers.

But do you get a more competitive market by reducing the number of competitors???

Historically prices were very high in Ireland although these have come down a lot since the crash. However the networks were still prepared to pay a fair bit for spectrum in the auction. Maybe there will be more investment as a result but surely the jury is still out on whether this deal is good for customers.

enapace · 24-06-2013, 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by japaul

But do you get a more competitive market by reducing the number of competitors???

Historically prices were very high in Ireland although these have come down a lot since the crash. However the networks were still prepared to pay a fair bit for spectrum in the auction. Maybe there will be more investment as a result but surely the jury is still out on whether this deal is good for customers.

True though Three Ireland has now the most 3G & 4G spectrum of anyone so surely that is a good thing for customers at least. But you are correct it depends on how they deliver the network to whether they are good or not?

Thine Wonk · 24-06-2013, 12:27

AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months.

enapace · 24-06-2013, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months.

I can't see O2 UK being sold but if it does get sold to AT&T it will certainly be interesting.

japaul · 24-06-2013, 13:02

Obviously there is always a price at which you are willing to sell but I don't think Telefonica would want to get rid of O2 UK if at all possible. In any case if AT&T are interested they might just look at Telefonica as a whole rather than the UK part.

I'm not sure there's any deal to made between AT&T and Voda unless it involves the resolution of Voda's stake in Verizon Wireless that was mentioned a few months ago. It made little sense. Why would AT&T want to help it's greatest competitor?

If AT&T were looking at just a UK network on it's own then probably the most likely is EE as it's parents already intend to sell off part of it in the next year or so and probably are open to offers (particularly DT).

enapace · 24-06-2013, 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by japaul

Obviously there is always a price at which you are willing to sell but I don't think Telefonica would want to get rid of O2 UK if at all possible. In any case if AT&T are interested they might just look at Telefonica as a whole rather than the UK part.

I'm not sure there's any deal to made between AT&T and Voda unless it involves the resolution of Voda's stake in Verizon Wireless that was mentioned a few months ago. It made little sense. Why would AT&T want to help it's greatest competitor?

If AT&T were looking at just a UK network on it's own then probably the most likely is EE as it's parents already intend to sell off part of it in the next year or so and probably are open to offers (particularly DT).

Honestly O2 UK is one of the most valuable parts of Telefonica left now and without that I could see them falling even more into debt. But for the Telefonica as a whole you would have to be talking 80-100 Billion where as O2 UK is worth maybe 1-2 Billion. I can see them perhaps buying EE but only as a whole.

japaul · 24-06-2013, 13:48

A bit unfortunate for 3 Ireland on the day they announce their big deal they have a major outage. I bet Virgin Media will be pleased!

Currently on their home page http://www.three.ie/

'Three confirms a temporary network outage due to a transmission link failure by a third party provider, Virgin Media. We have the best team working to address this and service is expected to resume shortly. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience'.

cockney · 24-06-2013, 13:51

This once great company that i have worked for for 15 years is being slowly sold off bit by bit, glad i'm off out of it soon

1andrew1 · 24-06-2013, 13:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by japaul

A bit unfortunate for 3 Ireland on the day they announce their big deal they have a major outage. I bet Virgin Media will be pleased!

Currently on their home page http://www.three.ie/

'Three confirms a temporary network outage due to a transmission link failure by a third party provider, Virgin Media. We have the best team working to address this and service is expected to resume shortly. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience'.

Now restored except data. I didn't think Virgin Media operated in the Republic, have they used the UK error message by mistake?

Everything Goes · 24-06-2013, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months.

Yes there were talks about AT&T taking over O2 UK last week but never amounted to anything.

http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/News/25...ean_push_.aspx

Meanwhile I wonder what will happen with the Three and O2 brands in the Republic of Ireland?

japaul · 24-06-2013, 16:20

It'll just be Three in Ireland, no O2.

I'll assume they won't rebrand to Two to celebrate having a 2G network

wilt · 24-06-2013, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by japaul

It'll just be Three in Ireland, no O2.

I'll assume they won't rebrand to Two to celebrate having a 2G network

Surely Five would be better? Or even Nine in preparation for 4G

24-06-2013, 09:18	#1
wilt Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Potterspury Posts: 930	Three buys O2 Ireland for 850million Euros Wow, didn't expect this... http://pressoffice.telefonica.com/do...g_24062013.pdf

24-06-2013, 09:54	#2
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	I had heard word that three wanted to buy 02 Ireland and that they were considering selling but wasn't aware that the talks were at this stage. Will certainly grant three more spectrum and customers.

24-06-2013, 10:03	#3
psionic Forum Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Crystal Palace TX Posts: 19,702	Looks like they're just freeing up funds. So far this year they've sold their broadband and landline business to Sky, outsourced call centres to Capita and now sold O2 Ireland to 3.

24-06-2013, 10:35	#4
japaul Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,662	This deal has been talked about quite a bit over the past few months so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Telefonica is trying to reduce it's debt by a few billion by the end of the year so this helps with that. For 3 it makes sense as they've really struggled in Ireland because of their scale. They are still making losses after 8 years and tried to buy Eircom last year. Combined with O2 they'll be almost equal in size to Vodafone.

24-06-2013, 11:02	#5
The Lord Lucan Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,966	This is a positive thing for both Three, O2 and the customers in Eire.

24-06-2013, 11:21	#6
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	Quote: Originally Posted by The Lord Lucan This is a positive thing for both Three, O2 and the customers in Eire. Agreed it is a smaller market then others but deserves to be competitive and reliable to customers.

24-06-2013, 11:35	#7
The Lord Lucan Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,966	I wonder how it will affect the O2Ir & Meteor's Mosaic project and ThreeIr's 2G Roaming agreement with VodaIr.

24-06-2013, 11:57	#8
japaul Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,662	Quote: Originally Posted by enapace Agreed it is a smaller market then others but deserves to be competitive and reliable to customers. But do you get a more competitive market by reducing the number of competitors??? Historically prices were very high in Ireland although these have come down a lot since the crash. However the networks were still prepared to pay a fair bit for spectrum in the auction. Maybe there will be more investment as a result but surely the jury is still out on whether this deal is good for customers.

24-06-2013, 12:15	#9
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	Quote: Originally Posted by japaul But do you get a more competitive market by reducing the number of competitors??? Historically prices were very high in Ireland although these have come down a lot since the crash. However the networks were still prepared to pay a fair bit for spectrum in the auction. Maybe there will be more investment as a result but surely the jury is still out on whether this deal is good for customers. True though Three Ireland has now the most 3G & 4G spectrum of anyone so surely that is a good thing for customers at least. But you are correct it depends on how they deliver the network to whether they are good or not?

24-06-2013, 12:27	#10
Thine Wonk Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 14,577	AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months.

24-06-2013, 12:36	#11
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	Quote: Originally Posted by Thine Wonk AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months. I can't see O2 UK being sold but if it does get sold to AT&T it will certainly be interesting.

24-06-2013, 13:02	#12
japaul Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,662	Obviously there is always a price at which you are willing to sell but I don't think Telefonica would want to get rid of O2 UK if at all possible. In any case if AT&T are interested they might just look at Telefonica as a whole rather than the UK part. I'm not sure there's any deal to made between AT&T and Voda unless it involves the resolution of Voda's stake in Verizon Wireless that was mentioned a few months ago. It made little sense. Why would AT&T want to help it's greatest competitor? If AT&T were looking at just a UK network on it's own then probably the most likely is EE as it's parents already intend to sell off part of it in the next year or so and probably are open to offers (particularly DT).

24-06-2013, 13:29	#13
enapace Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 4,249	Quote: Originally Posted by japaul Obviously there is always a price at which you are willing to sell but I don't think Telefonica would want to get rid of O2 UK if at all possible. In any case if AT&T are interested they might just look at Telefonica as a whole rather than the UK part. I'm not sure there's any deal to made between AT&T and Voda unless it involves the resolution of Voda's stake in Verizon Wireless that was mentioned a few months ago. It made little sense. Why would AT&T want to help it's greatest competitor? If AT&T were looking at just a UK network on it's own then probably the most likely is EE as it's parents already intend to sell off part of it in the next year or so and probably are open to offers (particularly DT). Honestly O2 UK is one of the most valuable parts of Telefonica left now and without that I could see them falling even more into debt. But for the Telefonica as a whole you would have to be talking 80-100 Billion where as O2 UK is worth maybe 1-2 Billion. I can see them perhaps buying EE but only as a whole.

24-06-2013, 13:48	#14
japaul Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,662	A bit unfortunate for 3 Ireland on the day they announce their big deal they have a major outage. I bet Virgin Media will be pleased! Currently on their home page http://www.three.ie/ 'Three confirms a temporary network outage due to a transmission link failure by a third party provider, Virgin Media. We have the best team working to address this and service is expected to resume shortly. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience'.

24-06-2013, 13:51	#15
cockney Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Leeds Posts: 1,003	This once great company that i have worked for for 15 years is being slowly sold off bit by bit, glad i'm off out of it soon

24-06-2013, 13:56	#16
1andrew1 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3,981	Quote: Originally Posted by japaul A bit unfortunate for 3 Ireland on the day they announce their big deal they have a major outage. I bet Virgin Media will be pleased! Currently on their home page http://www.three.ie/ 'Three confirms a temporary network outage due to a transmission link failure by a third party provider, Virgin Media. We have the best team working to address this and service is expected to resume shortly. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience'. Now restored except data. I didn't think Virgin Media operated in the Republic, have they used the UK error message by mistake?

24-06-2013, 16:02	#17
Everything Goes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In the future.... Posts: 11,259	Quote: Originally Posted by Thine Wonk AT&T are sniffing around O2UK, have been talking to O2 and Voda over the last couple of months. Yes there were talks about AT&T taking over O2 UK last week but never amounted to anything. http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/News/25...ean_push_.aspx Meanwhile I wonder what will happen with the Three and O2 brands in the Republic of Ireland?

24-06-2013, 16:20	#18
japaul Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,662	It'll just be Three in Ireland, no O2. I'll assume they won't rebrand to Two to celebrate having a 2G network

24-06-2013, 18:29	#19
wilt Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Potterspury Posts: 930	Quote: Originally Posted by japaul It'll just be Three in Ireland, no O2. I'll assume they won't rebrand to Two to celebrate having a 2G network Surely Five would be better? Or even Nine in preparation for 4G

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Three buys O2 Ireland for 850million Euros