Iliad SA announced that Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) has rebuffed a renegotiated offer to merge their Italian operations, leading to a 4% dip in Vodafone’s stock price premarket on Wednesday.

Billionaire Xavier Niel’s Iliad has expressed its commitment to pursuing its independent strategy after Vodafone’s refusal of the revised merger proposal.

Iliad’s Bids And Vodafone’s Response

After its initial offer in December 2023, Iliad proceeded to submit a revised bid to Vodafone, proposing the amalgamation of iliad Italia and Vodafone Italia into a new entity, NewCo, with a 50/50 merger. Vodafone would have received €6.6B in cash proceeds and a €2B shareholder loan, amounting to an Enterprise Value of €10.45B. This proposal offered Vodafone an additional €100M in cash compared to Iliad’s previous offering. On the other hand, Iliad would have been allocated €0.4B of cash proceeds and a €2B shareholder loan, representing an Enterprise Value of €4.25B, with no further call options to the benefit of Iliad. Iliad emphasized its dedication to fortifying its presence in Italy and aggressively pursuing market share expansions across all sectors.

Vodafone’s Previous Rejections and Agreements

Vodafone had previously dismissed an offer of over €11B for its Italian arm from an Iliad-backed consortium in 2022. Furthermore, in October 2023, Vodafone (VOD) consented to divest its Spanish division to U.K.-based Zegona Communications in a transaction valued at up to €5B ($5.3B).