LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The telecoms regulator on Thursday fined the Greek unit of UK mobile giant Vodafone 19.1 mln eur for violating network regulations in a wire-tapping scandal that rocked the country last year.

The fine is the second handed to Vodafone Hellas over the case after a 76 mln eur penalty levelled by Greece's communication privacy watchdog last December.

Some 100 Vodafone cellphones in February 2006 were found to have been compromised by an illicit network that tapped sets used by Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis, his wife and several ministers from June 2004 to March 2005.

The tapping used software slipped into Vodafone's network by unknown perpetrators to illegally activate an Ericsson-made module permitting call interception.

On Thursday, the national telecommunications regulator EETT accused Vodafone of breaching regulations on the protection of telecommunications privacy, network maintenance and quality, and consumer protection.

The company rejected last December's fine as 'illegal, unfair and baseless.'

A Greek parliament committee collecting evidence on the case last November noted the involvement of three employees of telecoms giants Ericsson Hellas and Vodafone Greece, identified only by their initials.

'The whole system could not operate without Ericsson know-how and without access from within (Vodafone),' the report said.

The Greek branch of Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson has also been fined 7.36 mln eur over the case.

The parliamentary committee did not rule out the involvement of other people operating outside Greece.

The Greek justice department has opened an investigation into the case but nobody has yet been charged.

Days before the affair came to light, a senior Vodafone expert was found hanged inside his home.

The death of Costas Tsalikidis, manager of Vodafone Greece's network planning section, was linked to the case and his family suspects he was murdered.

Deal done, but no details as yet - Vodafone confirms Verizon stake sale

A bit more from reuters.

Verizon, Vodafone say agree to $130 billion Verizon Wireless deal

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc said on Monday it has agreed to buy out Vodafone Group Plc's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, capping its decade-long effort to win full control of the most profitable mobile service provider in the United States.

Under the terms of the deal, Vodafone would get $58.9 billion in cash, $60.2 billion in Verizon stock, and an additional $11 billion from smaller transactions that would take the total deal value to $130 billion, Verizon said in a statement.

The deal marks the third-largest announced acquisition in corporate history and British telecom giant Vodafone's exit from the large but mature U.S. mobile market.

VODAFONE TO REALISE US$130 BILLION FOR ITS 45% INTEREST IN VERIZON WIRELESS

US$84 BILLION EXPECTED RETURN TO SHAREHOLDERS

£6 BILLION ORGANIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMME TO ENHANCE NETWORK AND SERVICE LEADERSHIP

Key highlights
•

Vodafone announces that it has reached agreement to dispose of its US group whose principal asset is its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless ("VZW") to Verizon Communications Inc. ("Verizon" - NYSE: VZ), Vodafone's joint venture partner, for a total consideration of US$130 billion (£84 billion).
•

The consideration1 comprises:
-

US$58.9 billion (£38.0 billion) in cash;
-

US$60.2 billion (£38.9 billion) in Verizon shares2;
-

US$5.0 billion (£3.2 billion) in the form of Verizon loan notes;
-

US$3.5 billion (£2.3 billion) in the form of Verizon's 23% minority interest in Vodafone Italy; and
-

US$2.5 billion (£1.6 billion) through the assumption by Verizon of Vodafone net liabilities relating to the US Group.
•

The VZW Transaction represents an attractive valuation of 9.4x EV / LTM EBITDA and 13.2x EV / LTM OpFCF.
•

Vodafone intends to implement a new organic investment programme, Project Spring, to establish further network and service leadership through additional investments of £6 billion over the next three financial years.
•

At completion, Vodafone shareholders are expected to receive all the Verizon shares and US$23.9 billion of cash (the "Return of Value") totalling US$84.0 billion (£54.3 billion), equivalent to 112p per share and representing 71% of the Net Proceeds.
•

Vodafone expects that strong free cash flow generation will continue to underpin shareholder returns. The Board, therefore, intends to increase the total 2014 financial year dividend per share by 8% to 11p, and intends to grow it annually thereafter.
•

Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, the Transactions are expected to complete in Q1 2014.

It seems like the deal has been struck at $135 billion and Vodafone has released some details. The total deal is valued at £1.12 per share. $60.2 Billion of this will be in shares and will be fully distributed to Vodafone shareholders. A further $23.9 billion will be distributed to shareholders as a special dividend. The rest of the proceeds will be used by Vodafone to reduce debt and for business investment. Vodafone seem very positive about the prospects for the remaining group and have announced that they will raise the dividend for next year by 8% to 11p. This seems amazing at the current share price of £2.13 after the Verizon stake that values the rest of the company at £1.01 with a dividend of 11p. That equated to a yield of 10.89%. I would suggest that if the dividend is reliable that they yield could be at least halved which would mean the value of the remaining stake would be doubled to £2.02. When you add the Verizon stake of £1.12 you could argue that Vodafone’s price should be £3.14 which is a significant premium to the current price.

Vodafone has announced a presentation will be held tomorrow so hopefully there will be more information then and if anything significant I will write another update.

Today's "Targets".


HSBC Overweight 222.48 230.00 230.00 Retains

Exane BNP Paribas Underperform 222.48 202.00 202.00 Reiterates

Nomura Buy 222.48 230.00 230.00 Reiterates

Jefferies International Hold 222.48 216.00 216.00 Reiterates

I've taken a daily long position, have VOD as equity also.

Verizon markets $61 billion bridge loan for Vodafone deal: sources

NEW YORK | Mon Sep 2, 2013 10:23pm EDT
(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) has started syndicating the $61 billion bridge loan backing its $130 billion buyout of Vodafone Group's (VOD.L) stake in its U.S. wireless business, banking sources said, adding that some of the loan may actually be drawn upon due to its huge size.

The 364-day billion bridge loan will be refinanced with a permanent capital structure consisting of $49 billion of corporate bonds and $14 billion of loans, sources told Thomson Reuters. The loans will include a $2 billion revolving credit and $12 billion of term loans.

The massive bridge loan is being seen by many banks as a rare opportunity to make money from investment-grade lending. Underwriting fees for bridge loans are generally richer than those paid for more routine refinancings and fees increase further in the rare cases where bridge loans are drawn upon.

Same here Shortie - same yesterday.

Deutsche Bank Buy 206.20 202.50 217.00 217.00 Reiterates

US disposal & cash return both highlight non-US value

Thanks skinny. Merrill Lynch have VOD as a buy and valuation 240p

vodafone true Value £3?

http://valueshare.co.uk/current-portfolio/vodafone/vodafone-sale-agreed-true-value-3/276/

£3 is a bit rich given current figures..

Vodafone: Citi moves target from 230p to 235p and stays with its buy recommendation

UPDATE ON VODAFONE OFFER FOR KABEL DEUTSCHLAND

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Deadline to tender into the offer is Wednesday, 11 September 2013, 24.00 hours (Frankfurt am Main local time)

• All offer terms and conditions remain unchanged and will not be amended

• Merger clearance required by the European Commission only

Vodaphone's bid for Kabel Deutschland could not be approved due to the failure of meeting the required minimum level of acceptances, according to the FT.

We'll know Thursday.

Order books for Verizon bond climb above USD30bn -sources

Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:58am EDT
LONDON, Sept 10 (IFR) - Order books on Verizon Communications' multi-tranche bond have reached more than USD30bn, with around 100 accounts placing orders for each tranche, including investors from Europe and Asia, market sources said on Tuesday.

Price guidance on the deal, which will finance Verizon's purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, is expected to be announced later today and is likely to be in line with initial guidance released on Monday, the sources said.

The deal consists of eight tranches, including two floating rate notes with three- and five-year maturities and six fixed rate tranches with maturities of three-, five-, seven-, 10-, 20- and 30-years.

Verizon Bond Deal Expected to Approach $49 Billion

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +1.22% will sell as much as $49 billion worth of bonds to raise funds for the planned buyout of its U.S. wireless partner, highlighting an investor stampede into highly rated debt investments amid a strengthening economy.

The sale by the New York telecommunications company is expected to dwarf the previous biggest corporate-bond sale, a $17 billion offering in April by Apple Inc. AAPL -2.28%

Verizon is expected to sell the debt Wednesday, according to people familiar with the company's plans.

The sale signals a green light both for corporate bond issuers, which are finding a ready market for financing as they consider expanding via investment or purchases, and for the Wall Street banks that make millions of dollars putting together mergers and acquisitions.

Verizon: Bright Prospects After Vodafone Deal

A bit more here :- Verizon's Blockbuster Bond Sale - Breaking Down The 8-Part Offering