Vodafone plans: Federal Council expects added value from Swisscom
Published: Monday, Mar 4th 2024, 16:40
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The Federal Council expects Swisscom to only enter into participations or cooperations abroad if these contribute to a sustainable increase in the company's value. This was stated by Federal Councillor Albert Rösti on Monday during question time in the National Council.
In response to a question from SVP National Councillor Franz Grüter (LU), Rösti went on to say that the national government expects such collaborations to be well managed. Sufficient consideration must also be given to the risk aspect.
The head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications went on to say that no investments should be made abroad in telecommunications companies that have a universal service mandate. Other participations are possible if they support the core business in Switzerland or have a different strategic-industrial logic.
"If all these conditions, which are agreed in the Federal Council's strategic objectives after consultation with the respective committees, are met, I have to say: No, there is no possibility of a ban," said Rösti.
Rösti also pointed out that the Federal Act on the Organization of the Telecommunications Enterprise of the Confederation states that Swisscom can operate abroad. According to Rösti, the Federal Council defines its expectations regarding the participation and cooperation of such a company abroad as part of its strategic objectives.
Grüter had wanted to know whether there was a federal ownership strategy for Swisscom that prohibited foreign company takeovers.
Swisscom wants to buy Vodafone Italia
At the end of February, Swisscom announced that it was planning to buy the mobile provider Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros and merge it with its own Milan-based broadband subsidiary Fastweb. This would mean that the Italian business would contribute almost half of Swisscom's turnover in future.
On the same day, Grüter's SVP announced that it was taking a critical view of these plans. As the majority shareholder of Swisscom, the Swiss Confederation was also liable for the majority of the business risks. If Swisscom wanted complete entrepreneurial freedom, it would also have to be privatized.
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