Vodafone Group
However, the merger talks ended mainly because of "regulatory opposition in Brussels," according to a source quoted by Dow Jones Newswires. By Brussels, the source means the European Union, which would have antitrust oversight over corporate couplings within its member countries much as the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission would in the U.S.
But back in the U.K., outside of EU control, France Telekom
Vodafone has been devaluing its assets in Greece, almost $2 billion worth over the last year and a half, yet says it is still "committed to Greece," according to Dow Jones. But the carrier, during that same time frame, has been divesting itself of minority positions in some of its other foreign telecom investments, most notably in Poland's Polkomtel, in France's SFR, in Japan's Softbank, and China's China Mobile
The company has had success with its other foreign investments, such as with Verizon Wireless, in which it holds a 45% interest. Verizon
A combined Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas would have created an entity with about 8 million wireless and wireline customers, and Vodafone was hoping to use the merger as a way of bringing its costs down. But even though the companies have given up on merging, they are still exploring ways to share network infrastructure and other ways of partnering up.
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