Milbank Advises the Underwriting Banks on the Acquisition of Vodafone Italy by Swisscom

Milbank LLP advised Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, and UniCredit in their role as joint underwriters and bookrunners of the financing of the acquisition of 100% of Vodafone Italy by Swisscom AG (“Swisscom”) from the Vodafone Group (“Vodafone”) for an enterprise value of €8 billion. The cash consideration will be fully debt-financed. The transaction is subject to approval by Vodafone′s shareholders and regulatory bodies, including the Italian Competition Authority, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2025.

Swisscom is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company in Switzerland and, with Fastweb, a leading challenger in Italy. The company offers mobile, internet and TV, as well as comprehensive IT and digital services to private and business customers. Swisscom is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange and is 51% owned by the Swiss Confederation.

Vodafone is the largest pan-European and African telecoms company. The company provides mobile and fixed services to over 300 million customers in 17 countries and has one of the world’s largest IoT platforms.

The Milbank team that advised the financing sources comprehensively on the financial aspects of the transaction was led by partners Barbara Mayer-Trautmann and Suhrud Mehta (both Finance) and included partners James Warbey (Alternative Investments) and Alan Rafferty (Tax), special counsel Alexander Lang, Thomas Moeller (both Finance), Robert Wyse Jackson (Alternative Investments) and Andrew Callaghan (Tax), associates Lauren Beattie (Alternative Investments), Giulia Petragnani Gelosi, Dhruv Kaushal and James Szauer as well as transaction lawyer Pauline-Marie Gairanod (all Finance).