By Simon Zekaria
BARCELONA--The chief executive of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) on
Wednesday said the U.K. telecom giant is looking for more
fixed-line assets to complement its existing wireless services.
"It is not a secret that at the right price we would be
interested in getting more fixed assets," Vodafone CEO Vittorio
Colao said at a telecom, media and technology conference.
Mr. Colao said Italy is one of the countries on the operator's
radar for opportunities, but he warned that a deal "must be at the
right price."
Vodafone has been previously linked to interest in Swisscom AG's
(SCMN.VX) Italian broadband business Fastweb. Vodafone declined to
comment. Swisscom wasn't immediately available to comment.
Italy is one of Vodafone's key European markets, but revenue has
declined there amid tough macroeconomic conditions and depressed
consumer sentiment.
"We all got engaged in a big price war," Mr. Colao noted, adding
that Italy is a "liquid" market--predominantly with non-contract
mobile customers--that can either decline or grow rapidly.
Still, Mr. Colao said Italy's performance could recover quickly
if the telecom operators there stabilize the market through the
right pricing.
Vodafone is building out its fiber network in the country to
boost speeds and attract more consumers, aiming to reach 6.4
million homes by 2016, up from 2.9 million.
"We are starting to ramp up the marketing" on fiber, he
said.
Spain has been another tough market for Vodafone, and Mr. Colao
said a recovery, in comparison to Italy, will take longer.
Still, Mr. Colao said the company's "quadruple-play" offer of
fixed telephony, mobile, Internet broadband and television in
Spain, built out through the acquisition of cable operator ONO, is
bringing benefits.
"Quadruple play has completely reset the market into a totally
different place," he said.
Earlier this month, Vodafone reported an improving performance
across its key European markets, even as it posted a sharply lower
fiscal first-half profit.
In Italy and Spain, second-quarter revenue excluding handset
sales and mergers and acquisitions fell 9.7% and 9.3%,
respectively, narrower than the declines of 16% and 15% in the
previous three months.
Vodafone, based in Newbury, England, has been stung in recent
years by its high exposure to Europe's anemic wireless markets. The
operator wrote down the value of its operations in the region by
more than $11 billion earlier this year.
Vodafone has spent $20 billion on cable operators in Germany and
Spain in recent times to bolster its position.
Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com
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