Vodafone sells Malta business for €250m
Vodafone has sold its business in Malta to Monaco Telecom for €250m (£212m).
The deal, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of next year, will see the Malta division continue to trade under the Vodafone brand for a transitional period.
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In the financial year to the end of March, Vodafone Malta posted €82m in revenue and €32m in earnings.
Monaco Telecom, which is owned by the Principality of Monaco and NJJ Telecoms, reported revenue of €278m in the year to 31 December 2018. NJJ Telecoms is an investment vehicle owned by French billionaire and entrepreneur Xavier Niel.
In October, Vodafone announced it would close more than 1,000 stores across Europe as it attempts to adapt to declining high street footfall.
Group chief executive Nick Read said it will shut 15 per cent of its 7,700 European branches, but will offer more services at almost half the remaining stores.
“If you believe that 40 per cent of your transactions are going to be digital, then how does that impact why someone goes to a store. The journeys and the purpose of the store changes,” he told reporters in Duesseldorf, according to Reuters.
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“[That] means that we will have more ‘experience’ stores, less standard format stores [and] more convenience, and kiosk and click-to-collect stores.”