Fjarskipti hf., the parent company of Vodafone in Iceland, and media and telecommunications company 365 miðlar hf. signed an agreement on Tuesday on private talks on Vodafone’s acquisition of the broadcasting and telecommunications services of 365 for ISK 8 billion (USD 69 million, EUR 62 million).
365 miðlar operates television channels Stöð 2, Stöð 2 Sport, Stöð 3 and Bíórásin, as well as radio stations Bylgjan, FM957 and X-ið. Additionally, the company holds a 3.4-percent market share in the Icelandic mobile phone market and a 12.6-percent share in the internet market, Kjarninn reports.
365 miðlar also runs daily newspaper Fréttablaðið and the newspaper’s online version Vísir (visir.is), which Vodafone is not seeking to acquire. 365 would hence continue operating a news room.
Vodafone and 365 miðlar are competitors and the acquisition depends on a number of conditions and approval from the Icelandic Competition Authority.
“We will use the following months to look closely into whether the conditions for the acquisition hold,” CEO of Vodafone Stefán Sigurðsson said in a statement. “If the acquisition works out we assume that it will be finalized in the first quarter of 2017.”
