Altice Europe has been present in Portugal since 2015, when it acquired the domestic operations of Portugal Telecom from Brazilian operator Oi in a 7.4 billion deal. Since then, the Patrick Drahi-owned operator has been providing fixed and mobile services under the MEO brand, competing with NOS and Vodafone Portugal. Altice recently shifted its focus to the UK market, buying and then increasing its stake in BT , the UK's national incumbent. With 18% of shares, compared with 12.1% previously, Drahi is now the operator's largest single shareholder by some measure. It remains to be seen whether or not Drahi will buy more of BT. For example, there have been suggestions that he could snap up the 12% stake in BT held by Deutsche Telekom  a move that would give him 30% of the UK operator and set him up for a takeover bid. Where to next: Could the failure to sell MEO in Portugal affect Patrick Drahi's chances of buying more of BT? Such rumors were fueled by reports that Drahi had put MEO up for sale in the hope of raising a few billion euros  at least 7 billion (US$7.86 billion) to be precise  to refill Altice's depleted coffers. However, it's now being reported that Altice Europe has abandoned plans to sell MEO because no one was prepared to pay the price that Drahi wants. The price is not right
According to Reuters, Altice Europe dropped the plan to sell its Portuguese business after private equity bids failed to meet price expectations. Sources told the news agency that during December, Altice was locked in a valuation row with buyout funds EQT and CVC Capital Partners, as non-binding proposals came well below the 7 billion threshold. Indeed, the highest bid was reportedly just over 6 billion. Reports said rivals Telefonica and MasMovil thought MEO was too expensive and would not submit a bid. Want to know more? Sign up to get our dedicated newsletters direct to
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It seems that discussions have been behind closed doors and have remained informal. Indeed, Altice has apparently always denied that MEO was up for sale. The group is said to have hired Lazard last year to test market appetite for its Portuguese business, but never launched a formal auction process. The suggestions are that MEO has become less attractive after flogging off some key infrastructure assets. For example, in 2019 it sold 49.99% of its fiber unit to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. In 2020, MEO and Morgan Stanley created Fastfiber as a new entity for the wholesale fiber business. Related posts:

Altice Europe drops Portugal selloff plan - report

The European Commission has re-adopted a decision against Telefónica and Pharol (formerly Portugal Telecom) and has imposed a fine of €66,894,000 on Telefónica and of €12,146,000 on Pharol forentering into a non-compete agreement, in breach of EU antitrust rules. In January 2013, the Commission adopted a decision imposing fines on Telefónica and Portugal Telecom for […]

Antitrust: Commission re-adopts decision and fines Telefónica and Pharol (formerly Portugal Telecom) €79,040,000 for entering into a non-compete agreement

26 JAN 2022
The European Commission (EC) reimposed a fine of more than €79 million on Telefonica and Pharol (formerly Portugal Telecom), after previous penalties relating to a non-compete agreement were rejected by Europe’s top court. Spain-based Telefonica is again being fined €66.9 million, with Pharol liable for €12.2 million. The EC originally imposed the penalties 2013 over a deal the operators struck to avoid competing in Iberian telecommunications markets. The EC stated its latest decision “takes full account” of a European General Court ruling in 2016 which upheld a conclusion Telefonica and Pharol’s agreement breached antitrust rules and which was later affirmed by the Court of Justice. Although the overall ethos of the EC decision was backed by the General Court, it had overturned the fines because it agreed with the operators that certain markets should have been excluded from the calculations. The EC appears to have not deviated significantly from its original assessment: “The newly-imposed fines use the same parameters as regards gravity, duration and aggravating and mitigating circumstances as in the 2013 Commission decision,” it stated.

EC reimposes €79M Telefonica fine

Portugal telecom regulator sees first 5G services on offer within weeks
Portugal telecom regulator sees first 5G services on offer within weeks
FILE PHOTO: A woman takes pictures during the first demonstration of the technology 5G in Lisbon, Portugal June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante
28 Oct 2021 10:24PM (Updated: 28 Oct 2021 10:18PM)
LISBON :     Portugal should see 5G services go on sale for customers within weeks after new operators bought spectrum licences in an auction, the head of ANACOM regulator said on Thursday, bolstering much-needed competition in a sector dominated by just three players. Portugal and Lithuania are the only two European Union countries that have not yet embarked on a commercial rollout of 5G technology, which will allow for everything from self-driving cars to remote surgery. ANACOM chief Joao Cadete told reporters a day after the regulator concluded a long-running 5G licences auction there were still some administrative procedures to follow, but some players, who have been testing the 5G technology, were practically ready to launch their retail and corporates offers. "It will be quick... maybe a few weeks. The auction will increase the needed competition in Portugal," he said. ANACOM said on Wednesday that Telecom Nowo, owned by Spain's Masmovil, and Dixarobil, which belongs to Romanian group Digi, bought licences in the auction, which took 200 days to complete. They will join NOS, Altice (MEO) and Vodafone, which also bought 5G licences, in Portugal's retail mobile market. They account for almost 100per cent of the market. Small telecom operator Dense Air also won a 5G licence, but will only operate in the wholesale mobile market. Cadete said the auction would benefit consumers by increasing competition in a market where "prices and offers are fully aligned" between the dominating players." Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the auction of several spectrum lots was launched by ANACOM in January, despite legal challenges from the main players who say the rules unfairly favoured new entrants. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Nathan Allen and Jane Merriman)
Source: Reuters

Portugal telecom regulator sees first 5G services on offer within weeks

FILE PHOTO: A woman takes pictures during the first demonstration of the technology 5G in Lisbon, Portugal June 4, 2018. Picture taken June 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante
LISBON (Reuters) -     Portugal should see 5G services go on sale for customers within weeks after new operators bought spectrum licences in an auction, the head of ANACOM regulator said on Thursday, bolstering much-needed competition in a sector dominated by just three players. Portugal and Lithuania are the only two European Union countries that have not yet embarked on a commercial rollout of 5G technology, which will allow for everything from self-driving cars to remote surgery. ANACOM chief Joao Cadete told reporters a day after the regulator concluded a long-running 5G licences auction there were still some administrative procedures to follow, but some players, who have been testing the 5G technology, were practically ready to launch their retail and corporates offers. "It will be quick... maybe a few weeks. The auction will increase the needed competition in Portugal," he said. ANACOM said on Wednesday that Telecom Nowo, owned by Spain's Masmovil, and Dixarobil, which belongs to Romanian group Digi, bought licences in the auction, which took 200 days to complete. They will join NOS, Altice (MEO) and Vodafone, which also bought 5G licences, in Portugal's retail mobile market. They account for almost 100% of the market. Small telecom operator Dense Air also won a 5G licence, but will only operate in the wholesale mobile market. Cadete said the auction would benefit consumers by increasing competition in a market where "prices and offers are fully aligned" between the dominating players." Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the auction of several spectrum lots was launched by ANACOM in January, despite legal challenges from the main players who say the rules unfairly favoured new entrants. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Nathan Allen and Jane Merriman)
Article type: metered

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`` We are honoured that SAPO , after a deep analysis of different market solutions , selected AppNexus as its technology provider , '' said Remi Boudard , Director Market Development , Iberia from AppNexus .

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Domatica is specialized in IoT technology focused on bridging the gap between the physical world and the logical world of software. It is based in Lisbon, Portugal.

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Domatica is a technology partner of GoLabs.IoT , a new technological laboratory for the development of Internet of Things solutions recently created by Altice Portugal , to host and support the evolution of IoT solutions to the market and launch innovative and competitive services in the IoT .

DOMATICA IS A TECHNOLOGY PARTNER OF ALTICE’S GOLABS.IOT.

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