Digi to Pick Up Remaining Pieces in Spain

Digi's Spanish subsidiary agreed on terms to acquire several spectrum licenses from Masmovil for a combined €120 million. The company will grab the deal should Masmovil's merger with Orange’s local unit get through regulators.

The notification from Romania-based Digi of the provisional contract follows months of media speculation claiming a deal was set to be struck for the assets, which are being divested in an attempt to get the Orange and Masmovil deal cleared by the European Commission (EC). Digi currently operates an MVNO in the market and would stand to acquire specific blocks in the 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz and 3,500MHz bands.

Announced in tandem with the spectrum transfer agreement was an optional national roaming deal between Digi and Orange Spain. The former claims this would allow it to access all available [mobile network] technologies from the merged entity and affiliates in the country.

Both agreements are subject to the European Commission (EC) clearing the Orange-Masmovil deal and subsequently completing. The regulator is currently working to a provisional deadline of 15 February 2024, having outlined its statement of objections in June. Among the regulator’s concerns at the time were potential issues around competition if there were fewer operators in the market.