Vodafone’s AbCom acquisition approved

Vodafone’s acquisition of AbCom has been approved by Albania’s competition authority.

AbCom, the largest cable operator in the country, agreed to a deal in October 2019 with the value not disclosed. Its network covers approximately 460,000 homes, with it providing broadband and pay TV to 100,000 households.

At the time, Vodafone said that “This transaction is part of Vodafone Group’s wider strategy to enhance its mobile businesses with broadband and pay TV services.”

Vodafone already operates an Albanian arm, but the acquisition of AbCom will allow it to become a full service telecoms company that offers fixed and mobile communications along with TV services. Vodafone has over 1.2 million active mobile users, making it the largest mobile provider in the market.

The company also said that it “expects to launch a new suite of converged products and services” that would give Albanian customers “the most advanced broadband and pay-TV offerings on the market alongside Vodafone’s high-quality mobile service.”
Now, the competition watchdog has provided conditional approval for the 100% sale. The authority will monitor the activity of the companies for a year, with both obliged to notify the body of any changes in the services they offer.

Vodafone Albania is also obliged to not abuse its dominant position in the market, and must separate its accounts for fixed and mobile services in order to clearly display its source of income.