Ex-Virgin Media duo pull off £4.26 billion takeover of Vodafone Spain

Two former Virgin Media executives have masterminded the acquisition of Vodafone Spain for £4.26 billion (€5bn).

Zegona, the company set up in 2015 by former Virgin Media executives Eamonn O’Hare (main pic) and Robert Samuelson, has completed its reverse takeover of Vodafone Spain. Zegona was set up with the objective of investing in businesses in the European Telecommunications, Media, and Technology sector.

Vodafone has the third biggest network in Spain, and its fixed network covers 10.7 million homes with access to 95 percent of Spanish households.

Zegona Chairman and CEO O’Hare said:

“We have now completed the acquisition of Vodafone Spain and look forward to transforming the business and returning it to growth. I am pleased to welcome José Miguel García to lead Vodafone Spain as CEO, reuniting a team that has a proven track record of highly successful operational transformations in Spanish telecoms.

“The new 10-year network access agreement signed with Finetwork earlier this week demonstrates our ability to move swiftly on our well-defined strategy. With our proven track record, we are confident we will improve the performance of Vodafone Spain whilst delivering significant value for shareholders.”

García was CEO of Jazztel and CEO of Euskaltel and also CEO at Jazztel from 2006 to 2015, where he transformed Jazztel into a leading telecommunications brand. He was instrumental in delivering 4x revenue growth during that period. The sale of Jazztel to Orange for €3.4 billion resulted in €2.8 billion of value creation (6x return) during his time as CEO.

The senior management team of Vodafone Spain has been reduced from 11 to 7. Four new executives have joined. They are: Chief Commercial Officer of Digi Spain Ángel Álvarez (Consumer Business), former Legal Director of Jazztel and Euskaltel Jose Ortíz Martínez (Legal and Regulation), and former Human Resources Director of Euskaltel Berta Álvarez Stuber (Human Resources). Existing directors staying with the new company are Eloy Rodrigo Gil (Finance Director), Jesús Suso (Enterprise Business), and Julia Velasco (Network Director, IT systems, and customer operations).

García has a strong track record in the Spanish telecommunications market, i CEO of Euskaltel where the business was restructured.