Telefónica SA will shell out 900 million euros, or $1.34 billion U.S., for Hansenet, which is Telecom Italia SpA’s broadband unit in Germany. The company expects the move will go a long way toward increasing its footprint in that region.
Telefónica, based in Madrid, has long been searching for an opportunity to make a better high-speed Internet offering in Germany. At only 250,000 customers, it felt its presence was lacking. The purchase of Hansenet will add nearly 2 million customers to its base. This will allow Telefónica to better compete with rivals Vodafone and United Internet in Germany, where Deutsche Telekom is the longtime market leader.
